Nothing Else Feels this Good

Chapter Four

THERE HAD ONLY BEEN an hour left in Sakura's shift and things had quietened down significantly. Many of the staff had retreated home, and considering the time, many of the patients had also been resting. In the past hour, Sakura had found herself to become bored. She would glance at the clock, watching the seconds as they ticked by, but it provided her with no relief.

She then decided to review her patient's files. There were not many new admits, but there were a few patients who had been in long-term care for the past week or so. Some had severe internal injuries, whilst others, had a broken arm or leg. Their recovery would have been faster compared to the former. She checked the charts for the vitals, what medication was being provided, and who was on rotation.

Everything checked out and Sakura sighed, she was once again left with nothing to do.

For a few brief moments, Hiroshi had stopped by to check up on her, but their interaction was cut short when she noticed that Hiroshi was struggling to form coherent sentences. At first, she thought he might have been ill, as he stumbled upon his words and his eyes darted around the room. Nonetheless, the realization set in that maybe, it was the way Sakura was dressed for today.

Knowing that her shift was going to start a little bit earlier today, Sakura decided that she would combine comfort and fashion and follow Ino's advice, who knows who she might meet at the hospital?

Dressed in a black top that was made of a stretchy but form-fitting material, she had pulled the zipper down to add a little bit of enticement and wore a matching black skirt. It fell at mid-thigh, and on her feet were her usual black, heeled sandals. Her long hair was thrown into a messy bun on the top of her head and was secured in place with a jade pin. Tendrils fell out, adorning her face and falling down the nape of her neck. Finally, the white coat tied her outfit together. She kept her makeup to a minimum, mascara and some lipgloss.

Ino had approved her outfit as Sakura made a quick stop at the flower shop on her way to work.

Remembering that Hiroshi had asked her to tea a few weeks ago, Sakura brought up the subject and Hiroshi quickly nodded his head. His cheeks were tinted a shade of pink and he let her know that he would organize a day; and with that, he was off.

Weighing her options of how to pass the time now she definitely had nothing to do, Sakura decided that she was going to spend the remaining hour catching up on her reading.

Glancing around to ensure that no one had seen her, Sakura slowly and secretively pulled out the copy of the Tantalizing Adventures of Fumiko. Some light reading right? As Kakashi-sensei had said to her. As she briefly flipped through the pages and caught glimpses of the words etched onto the pages, Sakura instantly snapped the book shut and flushed a deep shade of red, from embarrassment and another feeling that she couldn't quite name.

However, mustering up the courage, she decided that she would read the first chapter at least. The first turned into the tenth, and Sakura found herself engrossed in the story of a young, beautiful kunoichi who participated in several extracurricular activities with the different men in her life.

Is this what Kakashi-sensei felt like when he was reading the Icha Icha series?

"Sakura-san!"

Sakura quickly snapped the book shut and shoved it into the pocket of her coat. Her cheeks were still flushed as she had just a read scene about Fumiko and her former sensei, as they were on a joint mission together and had to spend the night at an inn.

Clearing her throat and brushing the strands of hair out of her face, Sakura acknowledged the younger medic-nin who had made her way to the intake desk.

"Sorry to bother you Sakura-san, but we have a new patient currently in triage. He's been having some pains in his abdomen area, we tried different tests but nothing irregular is pulling up, could you please take a look?"

Sakura nodded her head and grabbed her clipboard and pen. She followed the medic-nin down the hallway towards the emergency department triage. Her heels clicked against the tile floors and she gulped, hoping that the title of her book hadn't been peeking out of her pocket. The medic-nin pushed the doors open to the triage assessment room and Sakura followed suit.

Many of the beds had been bare, with only two being seen by a medic-nin. Sakura had reached the end of the room, where the curtain was drawn and the medic-nin paused and smiled.

"I'll leave you to it, Sakura-san, thank you."

Sakura nodded her head.

With one hand on the curtain, and her eyes fixated on the intake sheet, Sakura pulled back the curtain without sparring a single glance at her patient.

"You've been having consistent pain in your abdomen area?"

"Yes, Sakura-san."

Sakura blinked when she recognized the voice and her eyes fell upon Neji.

The candidate she and Ino had selected, and that she had subsequently forgotten about.

"Neji-san… I uh, what's going on?"

Sakura felt her heartbeat increase as she tried to pay attention to the words that were leaving Neji's mouth. Here he was, sitting in front of her, on a silver platter. Ino hadn't given her much direction when they had thought of Neji as an option, she had just said to talk to him more or be around him more. He would then start to notice her but, the key was to be mysterious but charming, to never do the chasing, that was the man's job. So how exactly was she going to make Neji chase after her?

The only person that chased after her was Lee and even he was becoming sick of it.

"Is that informative, Sakura-san?"

Sakura resisted the urge to gulp. She hadn't heard a single word he had said as she had become too caught up in her thoughts, the thoughts of Neji in the onsen, and all the advice Ino had given her. All of it was whirling in her mind like a tornado, and she didn't even know what she was supposed to do or say.

Instead, she did what her medic-nin instincts told her.

"Okay, I'm going to have you remove your shirt and ask you to lay down on the bed, please."

Neji nodded and did as he was told. Gazing down causing strands of his dark brown hair to spill over, he tugged at the sash that held his kimono together and it slowly unraveled, falling off his shoulders. He then proceeded to recline onto the bed, his eyes glancing upwards to the ceiling of the room.

It was at that moment that Sakura realized that Neji was more than just handsome.

He was ethereal.

Nervousness wracked Sakura's body as chakra began to glow from her hands. The previous medic-nin had noted that all the tests so far were unable to determine the pain that persisted in Neji's abdomen, but there were some conditions or illnesses that were not always visible. Instead, Sakura decided to scan her hands over, seeing where his muscles twitched, and was able to realize that the pain was caused by a strained abdomen muscle. A muscle that he might have continued to work, causing the strain to worsen.

But as Neji lay there, with his eyes now closed, Sakura resisted the urge to remove her hands. She knew that it only required a small amount of chakra to heal the strain, but she somewhat enjoyed observing the calm expression that fell across his face, one that was slightly pained a second ago.

"Do you often work late into the night?"

Sakura was rather startled at his abrupt question and remembering Ino's advice, answered in passing, "My shifts rotate."

Sakura raised her hands higher, shifting them towards his pectoral muscles to see if any strains needed to be healed there. However, as she did, she began to lean in closer, nearly hovering over him, and found herself assessing Neji's features.

Had she really spent all her time thinking about Sasuke that she never truly noticed Neij? Or anyone for that matter? That there were probably a dozen handsome men that roamed the village, and she spent all her time, eyeing the one who didn't bother to give her the time of day?

Suddenly, Neji's eyes opened, and Sakura squeaked, instantly moving back. At the sudden movement, she heard a small thud and felt her face drain. The copy of her book lay on the ground, the cover facing up. Being faster than she was, Neji reached down and grabbed it for her, not before his eyes skimmed over the title.

His eyes seemed puzzled, "The Tantalizing Adventures of Fumiko, I've never heard of this."

Sakura immediately reached out and pulled the book from his hands, "It's uh, well, it's some light reading."

Kami, first Kakashi-sensei, now Neji.

Everyone in the village was going to find out she was some big pervert.

The way Neji gazed at her made her think that he did not believe for a second.

"Your face is turning red, Sakura-san. As is your clavicle area."

Why was he so polite, even when calling someone out?

"Oh well, it's just a little hot in here," She forked out.

It didn't help that he was still standing there, without his shirt on. Instead of agreeing with her, he raised his arm and suddenly the back of his hand was pressed against her forehead, presumably to check her temperature.

"You do seem to be warming up, it would be best to monitor your symptoms for a cold virus."

There it went, there went any opportunity of Neji being a candidate, or even considering her as an option. She was an idiot, she would remain an idiot, and she would die alone, without her first kiss, and without losing her virginity.

"Thank you, Neji-san, I will, I will do that."

Nodding his head, his fingers reached for his kimono, and in a few swift movements, he was dressed.

"Your muscles were strained," She decided to focus her eyes on the wall behind him instead of staring at him, maybe that would help calm her down, "Take some rest, if you push them too much, the pain will persist."

"Thank you for your help, Sakura-san."

"Any time," She nervously smiled, hoping that he wouldn't use his Byakugan to figure out that she was melting on the inside with fear and dread.

Neji made his way past her, the sleeve of his kimono briefly brushing her arm. Before turning the corner, he glanced back at her one time, "I will acquire a copy of the book as well; if you are reading it, it might be for knowledgeable purposes." And he disappeared.

Sakura felt her heart in her throat.

She could never show her face to Hyuga Neji again.

Author's Note: No because Neji should've been a model, instead of a shinobi. What do you guys think? Will Sakura even be able complete her mission at the rate she's going? Or is it about time Sasuke showed up and realized what he was missing out on.