Chapter 8

Sasuke

"Sirens lure you into their trap by showing you what your heart desires most," Neji spoke to an attentive class. They were particularly interested in today's lesson topic, and they were especially interested in the reaction it was getting out of their sensei, who blushed a bright red for some reason when they asked any "intimate" question. "Man has naturally always been unable to resist the sight of a beautiful woman. That's where the idea of reconnaissance missions birthed."

A student raised his hand. Neji closed his eyes then reopened them, as if bracing himself. "Yes?"

"Sensei, so does that mean kunoichis show us what our heart desires the most?" a student asks snidely.

The class laughed as Neji colored once more. Their sensei was unusually flustered today and they were having fun pulling his leg.

"That's not the point. The p-point of reconnaissance missions is also to gather data about your enemy's weakness and form it into a strategy and to use it against them. With me so far?"

The class nodded, and Sakura once more looked at the clock.

"Spying missions are particularly trying," Neji went on. "Sometimes, to extract information, kunoichis have to act as... escorts to the enemy so that they can get a good look at the surrounding area and the routine of the enemy."

A hand shot up. Neji nodded, again flinching as he held in a breath.

"What about shinobis? Don't they get to act as "escorts"?" a boy said, anguish noticeable in his tone. The class snickered once more and Neji struggled to keep an impassive expression on his face.

"Of course they do," Neji said matter-of-factly as he exhaled slowly. "But if the mission requires you to hide your identity, both shinobis and kunoichis have to act very convincing that they are just average civilians. Females have always been more successful because men can't generally leave alone the sight of a beautiful woman. A siren takes what she wants not necessarily by luring her prey with song, but many times the prey is unfathomably attracted by the sight himself."

The class buzzed as everyone turned to talk to each other, all except a dark-haired, bored individual who was looking out the window. No one gave him any heed, but he was particularly interested in the conversation of the two kunoichis a couple of seats ahead of him and the way they were reacting to their chat.

"That's what I told Hinata," Sakura was telling Ino, their voices almost lost in the buzz if not for the fact that his ears perked up with the mention of the Hyuga princess. Sasuke remembered how those two used to bend over backwards trying to impress him, much like the sirens the jerk upfront was talking about. This Hyuga he had a problem with. His sensei, he shuddered.

Right now, they were were pretending not to notice him, though he could tell that they were trying hard not to let their eyes flicker over to his direction.

"I told her to go for it you know. To get what she wants and explore. To gain confidence."

"She does seem to be glowing today," Ino admitted.

Sakura clapped her hands in glee. "You know, I am so sure she did it!"

Ino gasped. "You mean..."

Sakura stopped, perhaps realizing who she was talking to, aka Konoha's gossip magazine.

"Yeah," she said, and left it at that. She did not elaborate or take a name.

Unwillingly, Sasuke's curiosity flickered. Was Sakura talking about Hinata's failed confession to Naruto, the one he had - ah - unintentionally borne witness to? His eye rolled down to where she was sitting. The topic of the class seemingly embarrassed her as well because she appeared flushed and flustered as she looked anywhere but at the front of the classroom. His thoughts swirled sluggishly. He had a vague remembrance of those two being related.

After the class ended, he slowly got up, wondering why he was going through this torture at all. On the bright side, he thought, as his eyes flicked over to Hinata's petite form as she dropped her books in anguish and Neji shuffled over to help her, maybe things won't be too boring when he had something - or someone - to look at.

Sakura and Ino had left, but not before shooting nasty looks at his direction.

"So how's Shikamaru, Ino?" Sakura asked loudly. "Where did you guys go last night?"

"Oh, he's amazing, as usual. We went to this lovely Chinese place last night. You should definitely try that place with Kiba. It's everything you can ask for; intimate, sensual, and amazing food. Speaking of which, how is Kiba?"

"Oh, he's absolutely wild," she giggled. She shot another nasty look at Sasuke as he passed them. "He sure knows how to take care of a girl."

Now, Sasuke knew that they were just being loud to let him know how amazing their love lives were, but he had not missed the slightly forced laugh the girls had exchanged. Things just not might be so great there in paradise after all.

As Sasuke reached Hinata (and Neji he supposed), he couldn't help noticing her beautiful heart-shaped face and her hair, which cascaded down as she tried to protest her cousin's help, as any right-minded person would.

"N-n, it's-it's alright," she squeaked.

God, her stutter. It did something to him. He had half a mind to stoop down in an undignified position and help her up. Or rather, help her up literally and carry her away. He noticed that as they fumbled, their fingers touched, and they both leaped back as if the touch shocked them. Sasuke raised his eyebrow. Strange...

Neji coughed as he got up, dusting himself.

"I'll... I'll see you later, Hinata... sama?" he said evenly.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She understood his meaning clearly, and the underlying question.

Sasuke realized he was holding up the line as students started muttering, and he moved out, taking one last look behind him. Hinata had completely ignored him as she left the classroom in a hurry.

"Sorry," she apologized without looking as she pushed past him, almost shoveling him away.

Sasuke looked at her disappearing, his mouth hanging in disbelief. He had never been ignored like that by a girl in his life.

No matter. He would make her notice him.

Sakura

Sakura hated herself. She felt filthy, vile, and disgusting.

She had become a slave to her own hormones. Not only had she cheated on Kiba, but she also led Kakashi to believe that she was only interested in him for sex. The way she had acted, so unladylike and sex-crazed, made her want to shut herself in her room and never emerge. She had let Kakashi take advantage of her feelings, and she had enjoyed every second of it. But Kakashi was done with her now. He had no reason to look at her anymore.

Rough fingers covered her eyes from behind, accompanied by excited barking which very obviously gave the person away even if Sakura hadn't recognized who it was. Her heart ached and she feared that Kiba felt the water emerging from her eyes.

"Guess who?" he said excitedly like a child, his breath tickling her ear.

She tried to keep her voice from shaking. "Kiba."

"Nope," Kiba said. "Guess again."

"Akamaru," she said.

Akamaru barked in protest as Kiba laughed.

"Nope, not this time," he said sweetly.

Sakura tore his fingers away and pushed him back.

"What's wrong with you?" she cried. "Why won't you ever act mature?"

Kiba and Akamaru both flinched at her reaction. Kiba slumped as he hid his hands in his pocket.

"I... I only meant..."

"I know what you meant. You wanted me to say my dog. For fuck's sake, grow up Kiba! You cannot always catch me off guard when I have so many other important things to think about!"

Kiba looked at her like a dog who had just been kicked, and it made her feel worse than ever, which only made her even angrier.

"I... I'm sorry," Kiba muttered as he began to scratch the back of his head, then suddenly stopped and put his hand back down again. Sakura had once called this habit of his immature as well. "I just... I love you, and..."

Sakura growled in frustration as Akamaru hid behind his owner, who was so hurt that he couldn't change his flabbergasted expression nor move. He rubbed the red mark on his cheek, the mark she had scaled her thumbs over countless times.

"I'm sorry," he weakly apologized again. "It's just... I thought I smelled Kakashi and Hana-niichan had asked me to drop a message for him."

"Hana-niichan... Your sister?" Sakura asked, shocked.

He nodded. "Yes. And... And I thought I smelt him but I turned the corner and it was just you. So I... I just thought I could surprise you again."

Sakura's face colored up so quickly that she was only glad that Kiba thought she was just angry as he sauntered away, his wounded dog expression still in its place. Kiba smelt Kakashi on her. He could always smell him on her. How could she? And what was the deal about his sister? What did Hana Inuzuka want with Kakashi? She forgot to feel bad about it as jealousy overcame her. Were they... dating?

Neji

His feelings he couldn't hide as his body shook. He splashed water on his face to steady his nerves. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't stop thinking about his beautiful cousin and her lovely face as it looked up at him with that innocent expression on her face, the lust burning in her eyes as he gave her pleasure and listened to her commands.

He pulled his hair. He was going mad, and he found it harder and harder to control. With an enormous amount of effort, he willed the thoughts of the previous night away.

He cautiously stepped out of the bathroom and made his way back to the staff-room. He rounded a corner and saw Sakura standing there, stock-still. He reached her and she still hadn't noticed his presence, so he tapped her on the shoulder. He was surprised when she jumped up a mile.

"Oh, oh it's only you," she said as she breathed a sigh of relief.

Neji scoffed, happy at his manner returning. "Yes, just me, pity," he teased. "Wrong teacher."

He was amused at the blush which matched her hair. It was payback time for the time she had teased him and confronted him about Hinata.

"Quiet," she hissed as she covered his mouth. She pulled it back down as she whispered, "I am in some deep shit."

"I can imagine," he replied as he surveyed her. "You know, you have to come out with your feelings eventually."

Sakura sighed. "You don't know the half of it," she mumbled. She shook her head as a smirk slowly formed on her lips. "Anyway, did you have a fine night?"

He flinched, but he tried to regain his composure. "Oh no, you're not getting me with that again," he said, pointing at her with his finger. Sakura eyed it with the same smirk.

"I suggest you do not flash me the same finger you have just been naughty with last night," she said evilly. He gasped as he pulled his hand away, and Sakura laughed genuinely.

"Oh my god," she said, wiping a tear. "You are just too easy."

His frown deepened. Hyuga Neji did not like to be called easy.

"Anyway," she giggled. "Give this to Hinata. She'll be needing it."

She handed him a small pouch covered with a drawstring. He looked at her questioningly.

She laughed again at his clueless expression. "Well, being a good friend that I am, I know you both, and you obviously must have forgotten all about precautions."

Neji's mouth fell. They had, after all, forgotten all about protection, as Sakura wisely just mentioned. He looked at her in terror, his eye flashing.

"Oh shit," he whispered. "If Hiashi-sama..."

But Sakura smiled as she patted his hand to calm him.

"No one would find out, and nothing will happen. You worry too much. Just tell Hinata to take this pill every time and you'll be fine."

His breathing eased as he looked at her thankfully.

"Thank you," he said. "But... how did you know that we... I mean that I..."

Sakura laughed. "You just gave yourself away yourself, exactly like the last time. Besides, have you looked at you both? You both are glowing."

Neji flushed as he looked away, but he couldn't help a slight smile as it tugged his lips.

"Hinata-sama is... Happy?" he asked, his voice barely a sound.

"Happy? You mean ecstatic, right?" she said.

He looked at her, worried. "Is she... Satisfied?"

The question had been plaguing his mind the whole day, and night if you counted the previous one.

"Satisfied is an understatement Neji. She really and truly looks like Naruto after his fifth bowl of miso-ramen."

And Hyuga Neji's troubles and doubts melted away.

Hinata

He held her closer to him against his sweaty body. She inhaled, loving the scent of pine and sunflowers emanating from his skin. Her arms wrapped around his as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

"You-you..." he trailed off, as if mere words could not describe his whirling emotions. The tightening of his grip did, however, and the feel of his burning lips on hers as he captured them and sucked her breath away, devouring her as she clutched him desperately.

She smiled, but at the bottom of her heart, she felt fear. She loved the way he made her feel, she truly did. But she was unsure if she really loved him, and that unnerved her, because the way Neji looked at her, his eyes filled with a warmth she had never seen him wear, ever. Not since his father died. Even at the academy, she had caught him looking at her, making her feel like she was a gem carved from one of the most precious stone on earth.

She loved how he sent her heart racing and her body aching for more of his touch. She loved how she had suddenly found him so attractive and so hard to resist that she couldn't wait for nightfall, when she could sneak out to be in his arms. Most of all, she loved the he looked at her, and she realized that he had always looked at her like that. She just hadn't noticed. No wonder his brief relationship with Tenten had never worked out.

"I can never date a man who is so obviously in love with someone else," Tenten had once hiccuped when she was drunk, when they were spending a ladies night out. The girls had sympathized and Hinata had nodded, like she understood. They had all thought he was in love with Rock Lee, as he was the only one he spent his time with.

It was at that moment that Neji had started smoking. Hinata had supposed it was the pain of breakup and the anguish of coming out, but it was actually the pain of seeing someone you love, love someone else. She had seen it in Tenten and she saw it in Neji as clear as day. She had just been blindly racing after Naruto.

She understood his expressions now as well. When they trained, he had fixed them in a mask, and he continued to do so. Someone who wasn't looking won't see them as well. But a slight twitch of his cheek and his eye which she had learnt to read gave him away.

He had truly loved her when he had decided to sacrifice his life for her without a thought. He had cried when she visited him at the hospital when he feared he might never see her again, but he had insisted that it was alright. He had also insisted to train her after, never missing a chance to be with her. And, she supposed, that was enough for now.