Chapter 8 - Academy and Clans.
'Where is he? Why is he late? Where is he?!' Thought Sakura as she waited on her door step with her lunch and back bag.
"Looking for me?" Asked Neji.
"Neji-kun! You're late!"
"No, I'm not. It's exactly 7:15." He said while he showed her his watch.
She pouted. It was her first day at the Academy, and she was nervous. Very nervous. What if the other kids don't like her? What if something goes wrong? What if ...?
"Stop worrying, Sakura!" Admonished Neji gently.
"I'm not worrying!" Said Sakura while crossing her arms defensively.
"Yes, you are. You're biting your lower lip."
Sakura pouted even more. Neji took her hand and leaned his forehead against hers. "Don't worry. I'll be there for you. Besides, you will have Hinata-nii-sama, Sasuke-san and Naruto-san with you in the same class. They won't let anything happen to you."
Looking in his eyes and seeing that he was being honest, she relaxed.
He tugged her hand and they walked to the Academy together.
Her parents were supposed to walk her, but her father had went back to being a ninja, much to Mebuki's chagrin, and he was usually away from the crack of dawn, till the sun sets. And her mother, sigh, her mother refused to take her because she still doesn't approve of being a ninja, and she didn't want Sakura to get the wrong idea.
Not that it mattered to Neji, anyway. He was already planning on walking with her to the Academy and back every morning and every afternoon.
...
"Sakura-chaaaan!"
"Naruto! Sasuke!"
Neji pulled Sakura to him and hugged her tightly, to avoid getting her getting crushed by a flailing Naruto.
"Why you!"
Sakura started giggling at Naruto, who was trying to punch Neji, while Neji had his hand in Naruto's face to keep him away from Neji and Sakura.
After a while everything settled down and they heard the bell ring. Neji escorted Sakura to her class, who was oblivious to all of the glares she's getting from the girls courtesy of being hugged by The Hyuuga Neji, and having The Uchiha Sasuke follow behind her to class.
At arriving to Sakura's class, Neji leaned in and whispered, "You will be fine, Sakura-hime."
"H-hime?"
"Got a problem?"
"N-no." Stammered Sakura.
Then Neji turned to the two boys, who had already entered the class, and said, "I trust that you two will keep an eye on her and my cousin during classes?"
"Of course we will!"
"Hn."
Neji nodded, satisfied, and turned to a blushing Sakura and bid her farewell, kissed her cheek and went to his own class.
A tomato red Sakura walked into class.
"She's sitting next to me, teme!"
"Nobody would ever want to sit next to you, dobe, least of all Sakura-chan."
"That's not true! Is it Sakura-chan?"
Turning to said girl, they didn't find her where she was last. A quick look around the classroom revealed her pulling a chair next to Hinata.
"Ohayo, Hinata-chan."
"Ohayo, Sakura-chan."
Sakura turned to look at the boys to find them glaring at something behind her.
Looking at that direction, she noticed a boy with a pineapple-shaped-head getting nearer. He pulled the chair on the other side of her and sat.
"I'm Nara Shikamaru."
"Haruno Sakura."
"Hyuuga H-hinata."
"You two seem quiet enough." Commented Shikamaru in a lazy manner.
Sakura and Hinata exchanged looks, then turned to the Nara, and Sakura asked, "Quiet enough for what?"
"For napping, of coarse."
And that's what he did. He put an arm on the table in front of him, layed his head on it and promptly fell asleep. He didn't wake up when Naruto was going to smash his head in for 'Taking his rightful place next to Sakura-chan!', or when Sasuke held Naruto back, or when the Sakura and Hinata started giggling, or when a hoard of fangirls started screaming 'Sasuke-kuuun', not even when the teacher came in and started the lesson, much to Sakura's and Hinata's amusement.
He only woke up when Akamichi Choji woke him up in time for lunch break.
...
Sakura was in the process of putting away her books and getting out her lunch when she was shoved to the ground.
"H-hey! What was that for!" Yelled Sakura.
"That's for going near our Neji-kun and our Sasuke-kun."
The girls surrounding her were big, and had mean looks on their faces. Sakura was scared, but she couldn't afford to look afraid in front of 'The Enemies', that's what Tsunade-shishou taught her.
But she was terrified. And if these girls were older and had the ability to sense chakra, then they would know just how terrified she was.
...
Neji spent the first five minutes of break looking for Sakura. He couldn't find her. Deciding to look for her friends that were supposed to be looking after her, he felt anger swell inside of him when he saw the two bickering, with no Sakura in sight. He vaguely registered that Hinata was behind the two.
Then he felt it.
Danger.
He didn't know why, but this strong sense of panic came crashing into him at once, and he had the urge to run to Sakura's class room. So he ran. As fast as he could, he ran.
When he arrived, he was livid at the sight that met him.
Sakura, his Sakura was in between seven girls, who were using verbal insults to break the girl down. She was holding her own quit well, but there is only so much a little girl could take. But what made his anger topple over and all hell break loose, was when a girl dared to touch Sakura the wrong way.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER!"Boomed Neji. And just like that, the girls froze. Sakura looked up from the ground at the new voice.
"Neji-kun!" And she ran to his side and he wrapped his arm protectively around her with her clutching him for all she was worth. Sure she's training with one of the sannin but she still isn't all that strong.
"Are you alright, Hime?"
"Y-yes."
"Are you hurt?"
"No, Neji-kun. I'm fine." And she smiled gently at him to prove her words.
Comforting himself that she was okay, he turned to the girls, who were glaring daggers at Sakura, and said, "If any of you, or anyone else for that matter, ever does anything wrong to her again, I swear I'll ..."
"You'll what? Kill us?" Said a brunette girl angrily. Honestly, who does this girl think she is? Her Neji-kun was defending thid filth? Why?!
"No, I'll have the whole Hyuuga clan on your case!" Said Neji angrily.
"And why would the Hyuuga clan care about a little pink haired nobody, with a big forehead and pathetic ninja skills, like her?"
How dare she? How dare she say that about Sakura?! Sakura was, and still is, his first friend. She taught him what it meant to be a part of a family! Her family became his family! His new family helped mend the broken relationship with his real family! Heck, Sakura is going to be his family in the future!
"Because she is going to be the wife of the head of the clan!" At their gasps he continued, "Yes, I'm marrying her when we grow up and there is nothing you could do about it!" And with that he pulled Sakura out of the classroom full of 'sobbing' girls and lead her outside to a tree. He always sat at in the branches of this tree for lunch. They sat down and had their lunch in peace (Well, as much peace you could get while planning on taking revenge from the two idiots that were supposed to keep an eye on his Hime and with a crazy Inner who kept swooning over her Neji doll and throwing daggers at dolls that looked like those girls with Sasuke-doll and Naruto-doll in between them).
...
The end of the first day of school came by too slow for Neji's liking, but it came, and he had one thing in mind at the moment.
Bring pain to two idiots.
Neji walked with long strides(as long as a seven year old could manage) and had only one thing in mind, and unfortunately for the Uchiha of the idiot-duo, he was the first to be spotted by him. Apparently Naruto decided to leave early so he wouldn't be shunned by the grown ups. But Neji didn't think of that. No. All he thought about while turning the Uchiha around was the satisfaction in seeing the surprise on Sasuke's face as he bunched the front of his shirt and glared daggers at him.
"I thought I trusted you and your idiot of a friend to keep your eyes on Sakura! Did you do that? No! You two were busy bickering like the idiots you are, and left her to be bullied by seven older girls!"
Neji's voice got louder and louder with each word, so when he stopped he was panting.
Sasuke's eyes widened at what he heard, but before he could ask where Sakura is at that moment, his father stepped in. "And who do you think you are to talk to my son like that!" Asked an angry Fugaku.
Neji's eyes widened in realization. It was the first day of school. It was custom for parents to come pick their kids at the first day in the academy. But he wasn't worried; because that meant that his uncle, Hiashi, was here too. He was proven right when the next voice spoke, "He is my heir. And he could talk to the brat as he pleases, since your boy can't even honor his word!"
'Uh-oh!' Thought Sakura, who was standing in the middle of the yelling men, 'They are going to start fighting! What do I do?!'
'Oooooh, you go girl! Two clans fighting over you! Finally, our awesomeness is put to use!' Said Inner while striking a pose to show off her 'awesomeness'.
'Inner! I need help! And you aren't helping!'
'Fine, fine. Look, Itachi-nii-san is over there, maybe he will step in?'
'I really hope so!'
Sakura tuned in, in that moment to hear the most horrifying thing ever.
"Well," Said a, now, composed Fugaku, "We will solve this the traditional way. A spar."
"Deal." Said Hiashi without missing a beat.
Everyone knew that it isn't going to be a spar. It was going to be a fight, a war, a battle! But the clan heads were too high to call it as such.
Everyone was watching, waiting. Adults and children alike were waiting to see the two kids start their 'spar'. Sakura looked at them and noticed that from their facial expressions, they didn't want to do this. Itachi was on the receiving end of a cold glare from Fugaku to keep his mouth shut, and Hiashi was purposefully avoiding her gaze while carrying a fidgeting Hanabi. So Sakura did the most logical thing in that moment.
She cried.
Not silent tears. Not little sniffs and hushed crying. No. She was right out wailing and crying her heart out for all to hear and see.
And see they did. After a few seconds Hanabi started crying along with her. Then a few other children from around the Academy's 'front yard' joined them. Neji quickly made his way to her, but he didn't know what to do.
Before he could start panicking a soft voice said, "Look at what you two did! There, there little girl. Come here." Said Uchiha Mikoto as she approached Sakura and bent to her level.
Sakura, Seeing Itachi nod his head in her direction, went to the woman's embrace.
"You must be Sakura-chan. Aren't you?" When Mikoto received a nod, she said, "Would you like to tell me why you're crying, dear?"
Lifting her head from the woman's chest, Sakura sniffed, "Because Saskue is like me brother, and Neji is my first friend..."
"And future boyfriend." Added Itachi from the side. Sakura blushed but continued, "Yeah... Anyways, They both are my precious people, and I don't want to see them fighting."
And with those words, glares from Mikoto to both clan heads, plus some insulting from her to both parties about 'Stupid clans and their stupid pride', and promises of dango for Sakura, the girl calmed down and asked the question that astonished all of them, "Are the two clans going to be friends from now on, or are we going to have to wait till Neji-kun and Itachi-nii-san are clan heads?"
Said future clan heads smirked.
...
A/N: Well, there are a few things I would like to clear up :
1. There are a few things I would like to establish before going in depth with Neji and Sakura's relationship. These thing are important for said relationship.
2. I believe that Neji and Sakura are still young to really know what love is, so it's a bit hard for me to write scenes of them together at such an age while still keeping it genuine.
3. About the kittens, I don't think that they would be mentioned again (not individually at least) so don't worry about confusing them, they would be referred to together, if I ever bring them up.
Thoughts? Ideas? Complains?
Till next time,
Zee :)