Naruto 1. Chrysalis

**Without a Doubt** by lilmisssushi

A/N: This will be my very first venture into the world of fanfic writing, so hopefully you'll find it in your hearts to go easy on me! Any feedback would be especially welcome! xD

Oh, and this story will mainly be a NejiSaku, because I adore that pairing and hope to do it justice, but the storyline will also contain shonen-ai (which means boy/boy feelings, as opposed to yaoi, which is more boy/boy action), of the SasuNaru variety. And if that disturbs you, then you might wanna backtrack a little, because it's gonna be pretty much integral to the plot. But if you're open to it, then thank you in advance for reading!

**Summary: **For Sakura, being in love with Sasuke is a given. She's loved him through rejection and betrayal and everything in between, so why should she stop now?

For Neji, blaming everything on fate is the most tried-and-true method around. But throw in Haruno Sakura, and his extremely versatile excuse just doesn't seem to cut it anymore. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. (NejiSaku)(SasuNaru)

**Disclaimer:** Nope, don't own.

* * *

**_Chapter I- Chrysalis_**

Neji and Sakura had become surprisingly steady friends after the first time that the Hyuuga had landed in hospital, courtesy of Sakura's own fist. It was probably a testament to his own obstinate character that he had not been scared off, after having experienced her ire first hand all those years ago, although he, understandably, wasn't keen for a repeat. Hyuuga Neji was never one to back down from a challenge, and when one had been presented in the form of a deceptively fragile-looking kunoichi on a huge silver platter, he could not have resisted for all the world.

* * *

"You are weak," – were the fateful words that had spelt out his destiny two years back, when he had directed this seemingly innocuous accusation at the pink-haired girl in the graduating year below his.

She had approached him on that dewy spring morning while he had sat, meditating, under one of the blossoming sakura trees in his then-favourite training ground. The sun had just started peeking out from behind plump clouds in the clear azure sky, and the grass sparkled with droplets of water from the rainfall the night before.

Beneath the shade of the tree, he rested with his eyes closed, a slight breeze ruffling his dark hair. Although he looked relaxed, he had already sensed a ninja's light footsteps advancing in his direction. Tensing by a fraction, he wondered who would dare to interrupt his training session in such an untimely manner.

His expression shifted from peaceful to guarded within seconds, and he snapped his eyes open when Sakura decided to make her presence known. She marched her way calmly up to him, her vibrant emerald eyes trained on his every movement.

"Hyuuga-san," she started off, and already, she had managed to irritate him with her overly formal address. While they had never actually met on a formal basis, they still knew of each other through their rather energetic teammates, respectively.

* * *

Haruno Sakura, as the Hokage's apprentice, was said to have surpassed all expectations and become one of the strongest kunoichi of their generation, and indeed, their entire village, in the years following the fateful chuunin exam. Her strength was now considered to be on par with Tsunade's, and her medic-nin abilities were the most advanced that Konoha had to offer.

And, although Neji had never checked himself into the hospital (because hospitals were for the weak, and he was _definitely_ not weak), he heard talk from his peers about her seemingly awe-inspiring prowess in the medical field. She was said to be a true sight for sore eyes, with her short pink hair pinned up neatly into a bun and her slim body encased in a regulated doctor's lab coat, _especially_ since her visits often heralded instant recovery.

It was no wonder that half the patients of the hospital would ask for her attention 'exclusively' whenever they got hurt. In fact, Lee had sneaking suspicions (which he often howled for all the world to hear, usually accompanied with loud declarations of undying love) that the majority of those very patients got injured **on purpose** so that they could partake in the lovely kunoichi's valued time.

Truly, she was worthy of her title and had made a name for herself as one of the kindest, most respected shinobi in the village, and was the apple of many a man's eye.

But that didn't mean that Neji would relent on his antisocial way of life for her sake. Oh no, she was edging in on his precious training time, after all, and he was almost _required_ to give her a hard time so as to maintain his badass image.

* * *

Taking a step towards him, Sakura got straight to the point.

"I want you to fight me," she proffered, smiling cheerfully but with an underlying blaze in her eyes. He observed the determined look on her face with barely concealed disgust. Even after he shot her with one of his most intense 'get-lost-or-I'll-jyuuken-you-into-submission' glares, she had refused to back down, and in fact, had not shown even the slightest sign of being in the least intimidated.

He closed his eyes, in the hopes that when he opened them again, she would have disappeared of her own accord. After a beat or two, he chanced his Byakugan on her. Nope, no luck. She had barely moved an inch and didn't look like she was planning to any time soon.

It looked like he would have to pull out the big guns, if he wanted her to leave him to meditate in peace.

Finally, weighing up her supposed abilities against what he saw in front of him in that moment, he deigned to give her an answer.

"You are not worth my time."

Sakura narrowed her eyes.

Getting up, he narrowed his right back at her.

* * *

He had hoped that his killing-intent aura would be enough to send her running, but again, intimidation tactics did surprisingly little to sway her purportedly 'weak' character. Unfortunately, he had no way of knowing that having spent countless years chasing after- and getting rejected by- the last Uchiha, she had developed _extremely _thick skin as some sort of coping mechanism in self-defense when denial had eventually worn its course out. Besides, she also had Sai (and his tactless mouth) for a teammate, so she had therefore become immune to any potential indictments or insults- against her strength, which, to anyone who knew her, was a _very _touchy subject-, directed her way. She could pretty much deal with anything he threw at her.

Still, that didn't keep her from self-righteously wanting to smack him out.

Slowly drawing himself up to his full height, and giving her his most threatening glare, he proceeded to circle her (like he had once done with Hinata), drawing closer, nearer, skirting to the side, while she stood stock still, expertly controlling her breathing but just barely reigning in her anger. The desire to strike his pompous head from his shoulders suddenly became _overwhelmingly _justified.

With his smooth, even paces, he likened to an eagle examining its prey before gracefully going in for the kill. Feeling her breath heighten, Sakura suddenly felt an intense _awareness_ in what felt like every cell of her body- the adrenaline of a fight coursing through her veins.

His voice suddenly startled her out of her thoughts, as his Byakugan roved up her body in a decisively threatening way.

"Your ninjutsu is lacking in the offense," he said, continuing to assess her with his eyes. A malicious smirk was settling itself on his oh-so-full lips, and his melodic voice was gradually taking on a deeper, silkier timbre.

"And your taijutsu is hardly adequate,"- he prowled around her in an almost animalistic manner, like a predator staking its claim on a hunt. His eyes, narrowed menacingly, bored into her very soul. Against her will, her heart inexplicably started beating faster…

"You have no affinity for close-range combat," he said, just before disappearing from her range of vision momentarily. She wheeled around, trying not to appear flustered and failing miserably.

And suddenly, he blurred back into existence right behind her…drawing closer, he leaned in towards her neck - almost near enough for her to feel his body radiating heat.

'Whatever you do, don't hesitate; don't show him a weakness' she inwardly chanted, willing to keep herself calm.

With his long, elegant fingers carefully lifting the hair at the nape of her neck (she shivered a little as his warm breath brushed past her ear), he whispered;

"…What makes you think you could last more than a second?"

* * *

Despite Naruto's influence and however much Neji had seemingly changed since his defeat in their first Chuunin exam, the Hyuuga still had a rather large propensity towards underestimating others. His inclination to deliver particularly scathing remarks at another's expense eventually earned him the nickname of 'the prick', which was really quite insightful, considering it had been his own teammate of seven years, Tenten, who had christened him with it.

But his barbed tongue put aside, in truth, he hadn't really meant any of what he accused Haruno of being. She had intrigued him, from the moment she had dared to initiate the ridiculous sparring session. Still, she would have to prove her worth before he would be convinced enough to give her the benefit of the doubt.

* * *

"…_What makes you think you could last more than a second?"_

That did it.

Sakura was **officially** pissed.

Her former reputation, plus her slight build probably lead the Byakugan-wielder to believe she was as weak as she had ever been, in her genin days, and although she couldn't exactly blame him, it didn't stop her from wanting to drag his carcass across town and then back, to assuage her stomped-upon pride.

The nerve of him; _taunting_ her like that! She would never have picked him for having such a spiteful streak! Really, she hadn't expected much from him, what with hearing his whole sob life story from Naruto and bearing Lee's complaints about his obsession with fate for years, but for him to take _one _look at her and to decide she wasn't worth giving the time of day, was…was…_despicable! _He was even worse than Sasuke!

At this, Sakura mentally raised her hackles and let out a bloodcurdling war cry. Oh, but if she had anything to say about it, Hyuuga Neji was going _down._

_

* * *

_

Just when the Hyuuga thought that he had successfully beaten Haruno Sakura's fighting spirit into the dirt, she surprised him yet again.

Neji took one look at Sakura (who had suddenly taken on a rather maniacal glint in her eye and was cracking her knuckles rather sinisterly) and _just _managed to resist the urge to back away.

She was…glowing. No really, she was emitting an aura of intensely concentrated chakra, which, at the moment, seemed to be directed towards him.

Out of nowhere, she let out an – admittedly – _extremely_ frightening scream, flipped onto her hands and swiped at his legs with hers, while at the same time throwing a handful of shuriken, aimed at his head.

Her deadly aim throwing his composure and balance off, desperately he back-flipped away, but not before feeling one of the blades scrape across his arm. The shuriken trailed the material of his sleeve with it. He looked down at his injury with a teensy look of unconcealed shock adorning his features.

…What had gotten into her?

Queasily looking around for an escape route, when he found none, he decided to take the plunge and opened his mouth to bid her a quick dismissal before turning tail. He walked away as fast as he could, praying she wouldn't follow.

In retrospect, it may not have been his smartest idea, because it really only served to infuriate her further. And suddenly, she had appeared _right in front of him_ with her fist glowing ominously. It was the last thing he saw before she drew all the chakra she could muster -honed to the densest concentration possible- and decisively cocked her arm back, before planting it in his face.

He landed in hospital for a week.

* * *

She had, in effect, royally handed his ass back to him, courtesy of her chakra-enhanced fist, and in truth, he hadn't even know what had hit him.

As he flew backwards into the nearest tree, Neji reached out and tried to stop his trajectory through the air in vain. His attempt to regain some ground was thwarted when that same arm smacked into some low-hanging branch, which then broke it with a sickening _crunch_.

Lying on the ground, with the wind completely knocked out of him, his broken arm limp by his side, he cursed the idea of having _ever _underestimated another one of Naruto's companions. He supposed he really shouldn't have been surprised. Naruto's thick skull, cat's lives and damned personality was bound to have rubbed off on his teammate at least a little, Neji realized, a bit too late.

He suspected that he had a major concussion. He had the chance to look up, his vision blurring, and was astounded, yet a second time (amazing how she could do that, when everyone else failed to meet his expectations), with what he saw. There, Haruno Sakura stood, still in battle stance, with her chin lifted and her head held high. Her hair was even blowing backwards, like a heroine's rightly should, even though there was no wind. He saw her mouth moving, and it took him a couple of seconds to realize what she was saying. He felt like he was moving underwater, for all the strength he could muster in his weakening limbs.

Finally, his brain clicked into place and her words made sense- "If you could take two seconds to pull that stick out of your high-born ass you would notice that things have changed. **People** change,"- was the last thing that registered in his mind before everything turned black.

* * *

Later, he had found out that he had apparently suffered the indignity (whilst still being unconscious, of course) of being thrown over Sakura's shoulder like a rag doll while she hiked back towards the hospital, where she neatly deposited him on a hospital bed- with the whole village looking on- before taking up another work shift. His humiliation was complete.

Tsunade had even taken the time out of her incredibly "busy" schedule to go see him, if only to point and laugh, standing in the doorway, tears of mirth coming out of the corners of her eyes.

"**That's** what you get for underestimating a student of mine, Hyuuga," she said proudly, still chortling at his expense to her heart's content.

He scowled. Heavily.

Haruno Sakura had gotten him, but gooooood though, he had to admit.

* * *

Needless to say, it was his body and pride that took a beating, but it was his ego that was painfully cut down to size.

For two whole days afterward, he had the entire left side of his face bandaged, and it was still too sore to allow him room do anything more than blink and perhaps eat (but with great difficulty). He was rationed on baby food (but 'extremely nutritious ninja-baby food!' Tsunade had informed him), to his horror, because he couldn't chew.

He supposed that he hadn't really stood a chance against Tsunade's infamous strength, which was renowned for the ability to knock down walls with a single flick of her finger.

She apparently must have transferred the secret of it to Sakura. Neji consoled himself by thinking that he **had** taken a direct hit, after all. Yes, that was his excuse, and he was sticking to it.

On the third day, Lee had even ended up visiting the hospital ward that Neji was in, predictably with tears streaming down his face. As soon as he caught sight of Sakura, he had all but pounced on her as she was leaving Neji's room, latching onto her arm and letting loose a pitiful wail.

"Sakura, my blossom," he had cried, tears of youth gushing from his eyes.

"You have beaten my eternal rival! I always knew you were incredible, from the very first moment I set eyes on you! I saw a beautiful warrior, with fiery green eyes, the hair of a god sent angel and the flames of youth within her soul! But to beat Neji," –insert splutter here- "it's just… a-amazingggg!"

At this point he howled, and Sakura barely suppressed herself from shuddering.

Lee paid no mind, and continued to blubber, "You are the woman for me, Sakura-san! Tell me you'll marr-"

"Now now, Lee-san, I have business to attend to, and I have to check up on Hyuuga-san's statistics, so-" politely shaking him off, she hurried away as fast as she could before jumping into the nearest room and slamming the door behind her.

Neji sat there on the bed, and they stared at each other for awhile, at a stalemate.

And then Sakura burst out laughing because she was afraid she might implode if she held it in any longer.

Neji lifted a delicate eyebrow before the corner of his mouth –very slightly- quirked upwards in response, (his version of an uproarious chuckle) clearly amused because he could not have helped but have heard every single word of Sakura and Lee's conversation.

It was some time before she straightened up and regained her composure before casually saying, "Excuse me, Neji-san" (he inwardly smirked because she had finally dropped his surname unknowingly) while she stuck her head out of the door and into the hallway to see if the insane green beast of Konoha had left the building yet. Apparently she was satisfied, because a moment later she stepped back outside, but not before throwing him a backward glance and a smirk to match. "I suspect you'll be able to leave the hospital today, if that's what you were hoping."

With that, she turned on her heel and left, and Neji was left to wonder about when on earth she had managed to change so much - right under his nose - without him noticing.

Finally he was starting to see what Lee, his teammate, saw in the girl.

* * *

After that first time, Neji had seemed to develop a grudging respect for Sakura, and they soon became steadfast friends.

And although his aversion to hospitals still remained, he was not as reluctant to check in, if need be, unlike his former days when he would hibernate away in the Hyuuga estate to lick his wounds in private.

Still, he (secretly) insisted that only **she** be allowed to tend to his wounds -and luckily, he took precedence over all her other patients- and he never let anyone else touch him.

Which was probably a good thing, seeing as he always had the most severe wounds in nearly the same place. Sakura, being the genius medic-nin that she was, had managed to figure out the secret blind spot of the Byakugan on her own, although she knew that he trusted her enough by that point, to have told her so himself.

Soon, she even began thinking of him as her guinea pig, her very own human body to practice her inventive medical jutsus on, since he started coming to the hospital so much. Not that (she thought) he was willing. No, every time she had pulled strings so that she alone could treat him, he was either dragged kicking and screaming or was beaten into submission by the Hokage. Whichever came first.

* * *

_-end chapter 1-_

A/N: Sorry if this seems a little confusing at first! It's really just an introductory chapter, to show how Neji and Sakura first became friends, but it'll go chronologically from now on, I swear! xD


	2. Emergence

**Without A Doubt** by lilmisssushi

A/N: This chapter really did come a lot more quickly than expected! It's amazing how addictive ffnet can be, and once you get hooked on writing, you'll never be able to go without it again. xD. Ooh, and a huge thank you to my lovely reviewers! You guys absolutely rule, and give me the strength to go on -insert big cheesy smile here-

And gosh! I'm sorry I keep changing the summary! But I've finally managed to settle on one I like lol.

Oh, and there are kind of spoilers in this chapter! If you know who Sai is though, then you should be safe. Trust me when I say that everything else you see comes from my delusional mindset :P

And 'shishou' equals 'teacher', much like 'sensei' okay.

**Summary: **For Sakura, being in love with Sasuke is a given. She's loved him through rejection and betrayal and everything in between, so why should she stop now?

For Neji, blaming everything on fate is the most tried-and-true method around. But throw in Haruno Sakura, and his extremely versatile excuse just doesn't seem to cut it anymore. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. (NejiSaku)(SasuNaru)

**Disclaimer: **Nope, still don't own.

* * *

_Chapter 2: Emergence_

To Sakura's surprise, she and Sai had come to a reluctant truce after many years of having to spend time in each other's gruesome company, and it eventually even led to an unspoken agreement of completely mutual understanding between the two. They formed a friendship of sorts, based on the requirements that Sai would keep his foul-mouthed self to a minimum while she was around, and _she_ would refrain from planting one of her chakra-ised fists in his face more than was strictly necessary.

Needless to say, they became steadfast friends.

She didn't really know when their insistent arguing had merged into such playful bickering (as was the norm now), because one moment they were literally at each other's throats, and the next moment they were both collapsed on the ground, laughing breathlessly and using each other for support.

(Sai's laugh was still a little unnatural and forced-sounding, but Sakura could overlook it because she knew it was something she could definitely get used to.)

Then, in the following missions, they had discovered that their fighting styles could overlap and cover for each other, so it made perfect sense to start formally training together, whether Kakashi was there or not.

Sai really did make the perfect sparring partner, because he held no compunction against inflicting as much bodily pain upon her as was possible. For Sakura, he served as the perfect punching bag, because she theorized that she could always just heal him later, however many injuries she managed to cause in the name of 'training'.

She increased speed dramatically from so much experience fleeing away from his animals, while she also allowed him a chance to practice more of his taijutsu movements within a close-range combat style against her medic know-how.

(Once, she had tried to attack him while he was in the middle of drawing an offensive animal attack, and the result had not been pretty. His ink had somehow blown up in her face, causing her to land head-over-heels some distance away, while he threw a tantrum because she had managed to snap his favourite quill cleanly in half.

She had been blackmailed into paying for his meals for a whole week afterward, and by the end of it, she had vowed never to touch his precious drawing utensils ever again.)

It was truly a win-win situation, because as much as she hated to admit it, Lee and Naruto would have gone easy on her just because she was _Sakura, _their princess, but Sai gave her the chance to go all out, and know that he was doing the same in return. It was gratifying, to say the least, when she managed to drain his energy and get past his guarded-ness enough to get to know the real person lurking beneath his rather unpleasant exterior.

Truth was, she secretly enjoyed their verbal sparring, as much as she expected he did. It took quite a bit of intelligence to match her insults word-for-word and Sai did it with practiced ease. One couldn't survive on Sasuke's grunting and mono-syllabic answers (pitiful excuses for conversation that they were) alone, of course, and Naruto didn't even come into the equation. And Ino had finally managed to get herself hitched to the lazy bum also known as Shikamaru, so she had more than enough to worry about without Sakura adding to her troubles.

There was still Kakashi, but as much as Sakura loved him, that man was infuriating to talk at times, what with his enigmatic personality and constant looking 'underneath the underneath'. She had a feeling that Kakashi never really took her seriously, because, in his eyes, she would always remain his little girl, his first female genin student.

* * *

Sai and Sakura were in the middle of another one of their sparring sessions when Sakura decided to just surrender (she was exhausted), and jumped out of the tree she was hiding in. She flopped onto the muddy ground, spread-eagled, with her eyes closed, and waited for Sai to find her. 

She didn't have to wait long.

He stalked quietly along the grass until he came to a stop right next to her left arm.

"Given up already? That's not like you," he said, his dark eyes skimming across her prone body for injuries.

"Aarggh…I'm tired, Sai, and you're not helping any with your stupid animals attacking me every couple of seconds."

"That's why it's called training, ugly. The enemy isn't gonna be nice and let you rest whenever you feel tired, you know."

She didn't bother to reply, and instead tucked one of her arms snugly under her head.

Slightly annoyed at being so unceremoniously ignored, he nudged her side with one of his sandaled feet.

"Heeeey…I'm sore there, so leave me aloneee."

"Fine, but you owe me one." He complied, and retreated back a few steps so that he was leaning against the tree she was currently lying under, watching her as she scrunched up her face in thought and muttered something vindictive-sounding under her breath.

He was quiet for all of three minutes before he spoke again.

"Stop thinking so hard. It's painful to watch."

One thing that could be said about Sai, was that he was almost honest to a fault, and always presented an objective point of view, whether she wanted him to or not.

Sakura appreciated honesty, but the painful, brutal, unflinching variety that Sai presented was a little hard to swallow at times.

Luckily, she was quite resilient from all her experience dealing with mentally retarded, yet prodigal, extremely exasperating men. Having Hatake Kakashi as her sensei probably would have ensured that.

Also, she could tell that he was just concerned about her, and was showing it in his rather strange, stilted way. Blowing a strand of pink hair out of her face, she grudgingly sat up.

"Oh, it's noth-"

"Don't try that with me. I know there's something up or you'd be screaming your head off and trying to beat me into the ground right this moment. You never give up training time while you could be taking your sexual frustrations out on me under the guise of 'sparring'."

Sakura looked up at him in disbelief. "Hey…you knew all this time? No wait, **wha-**?"

He smirked in reply, "I'm not a highly acclaimed ANBU for nothing, you know. Now spill."

When Sakura stubbornly didn't reply, he took a wild guess (which turned out to be not-so-wild), and managed to intuitively hit the problem head-on.

"…Is it about the traitor?"

* * *

After five whole years of absence, Uchiha Sasuke had been forcefully dragged back to Konoha by Naruto (who had finally fulfilled his promise from so long ago), fighting tooth and nail all the while. And the moment Sakura had set eyes on his battered, broken body, she knew; she loved him more than ever. 

She could still remember that day, the exact taste and the feel of it, when Naruto had arrived, back in hospital, almost hysterical, after a six-month long mission, towing a half-dead Uchiha and screaming for the Hokage, before collapsing into Sakura's waiting arms. With one look at his face, she immediately took action and rushed the both of them into the ICU, while desperately sending an urgent message via a nearby ANBU member to both her teachers.

It turned out that Naruto had been hunting Sasuke down for weeks, while unauthorized, after he caught a whiff of him in the air with his keen foxy senses. Sasuke was in turn hunting down his brother after having killed Orochimaru, and destroying the whole Sound compound along with everything inside it.

She remembered that Tsunade had been extremely surprised to discover that Sasuke had managed to get away from, much less kill, her former teammate, fellow Sennin and long-time arch-nemesis. She was just plain shocked when she found out that Sasuke had finally succeeded in avenging his family and killing the Akatsuki member, Uchiha Itachi, at great personal loss to himself, both mentally, physically, and emotionally.

And while Sakura had nursed Sasuke back to health (at her shishou's orders), it was strangely heart-wrenching to see him sleep peacefully in the hospital bed, black hair on white.

His plentiful injuries were the least of the damage, and even while his body slowly recovered, she didn't know if _he_ ever would. When he finally woke up from his self-induced coma (Tsunade said that his body had just shut down for awhile in order to cope with all the shock), there was a look of such sadness in his face, such longing in his eyes, such sorrow in every guarded movement of his body, that Sakura could feel her own heart collapse in on itself, all over again.

It was strange how he always had that effect on her.

It was painful to see the idol of her adolescent years reduced to such a pitiful state, and for that reason, she had put her entire being into slowly coaxing him out of his shell, in the least intrusive way possible.

Slowly, she gained his trust (which really was no mean feat, considering the way she had behaved around him in their genin days), and was there for him, as a friend, for the whole eight months he spent in the hospital. Naruto and Kakashi always hung around, too, and she supposed that their familiar faces helped quicken the pace of his recovery.

Sakura could tell that this broken Uchiha Sasuke was a changed person, but then again, so was she. She had grown up to be an intelligent, compassionate woman, and she hoped to God that Sasuke would finally give her a chance to heal** all** of him; mind, body, and soul included.

Sakura knew that she would have to take things _extremely _slow, but when it came down to it, she** also** knew that she would wait for him, for as long as it took.

* * *

Suddenly shaken out of her reverie when the insufferable Sai decided it would be amusing to repeatedly kick her ankle, she sighed in response to his question. "Why must I be destined to fall for all the cold, heartless ones?" 

Sai laughed, and with an insight that she did not believe he possessed, he completely floored her by saying; "I think the Hyuuga would say that it was fate."

"..Heeey… Neji? Why the hell did you bring him up for? What's that supposed to mean?"

He smirked in reply, "It means whatever you want it to mean."

Sakura decided to let that one go and think about it later. Sai could be annoyingly cryptic at times. She supposed it went along with his retarded personality. Which reminded her…

"When are Neji and Naruto coming back from their mission anyway? It seems like ages since they left for that A-rank."

"Well, they're due back tomorrow, but that idiot's probably rushed ahead of the team so that he can go eat more of his beloved ramen."

Sakura laughed. "True. He's so predictable when it comes to food."

* * *

---- 

The next morning, Sakura was heading back into town with the intention of blackmailing her shishou into assigning her another shift at the hospital, when she decided to take a detour. Hoping to see Naruto, who, according to her imbecile of a teammate, was supposed to have come back from his ANBU mission that day, she walked towards the Ichiraku ramen stand (which was really no longer a stand-it had expanded into a decent-sized restaurant in recent years, also doubling as the main hang-out place for Naruto and their friends).

Sakura could not say what had caused her to turn around at that exact moment, but as her eyes caught sight of a silky brown mane of hair, and her senses suddenly tingled with a –startlingly- familiar chakra signature, it clicked.

Throwing caution to the winds, she made a running leap towards her target.

* * *

Hyuuga Neji was feeling grumpy. (Not that he wasn't already more or less irritable most of the time, but that day he was being more obvious about it than usual.) 

Having been away from home for a couple of months, he had been looking forward to the mission's successful completion so that he could go home and brood in peace, but it seemed that the heavens were intent on working against him.

As he and his teammates had been travelling home that morning in the way that ninjas did, eager to be getting back after such a long and tiring mission, his mind had wandered off in the general direction of what could be waiting for him back in Konoha…

Certainly, the Hokage would probably insist he check into the hospital, because although the A-class mission had not been all that dangerous, he had still somehow gotten hurt when a rogue band of missing-nin had caused a minor skirmish and ambushed his team.

Even Neji had been caught in the rare position of being surprised, so none of his teammates had reacted quickly enough. As he pushed Naruto out of the way of an enemy's katana, the opponent managed to slash Neji's arm instead, but after Naruto realized what had happened,(with anger on his friend's behalf) he made quick work of the rest of the enemy nin with his insane amount of chakra and increased stamina. Their other two teammates had hardly needed to lift more than a finger to help.

Neji had to admit; Naruto was nothing if not protective of his loved ones.

Still, it left him with a pretty deep injury and an even more menacing demeanor to boot.

Neji decided to quicken the pace of tree-hopping so that he could have that long-awaited shower sooner, and his teammates gamely kept up even though they were probably even more tired than he. Naruto was being his usual insanely cheerful self, and had sped off into the distance while yelling something about how he couldn't wait to tell Sasuke and Sakura that he had 'kicked ass' and 'saved Neji' on 'yet another stupid mission'.

A small part of Neji's innermost heart (which he _thought_ had been thoroughly beaten down and stuffed into the darkest recesses of his mind) twinged a little at the mention of a certain pink-haired girl's name…

But suddenly, as Neji lost a little concentration, the chakra in his feet wavered, and to his horror, he felt himself trip on a particularly brittle branch, which snapped under his weight and sent him plunging towards his impending death. And if that wasn't bad enough, a couple of leafy boughs managed to smack him in the face along the way, until he finally came to his senses. Throwing a kunai with wire attached around a thick-looking (and hopefully sturdy) tree trunk, he twisted his body and used the momentum to swing back to the front of the group, landing as coolly and calmly as if he had planned it all along. He had an image to uphold as the captain of his team, of course (but that didn't change the fact that he had, for a second there, been even the teensiest bit flustered). He was lucky Naruto had not seen his little accident – the idiot would have taken it at face value (for what it was) and would never have let Neji live it down.

All in all, it had _not _been a good morning.

Which brought him back to the present. How had he gotten so distracted as to let himself (an ANBU captain, the elitist of the elite) _slip_? And how had Naruto managed to drag him halfway across town (after their arrival and delivery of the formal mission report to Tsunade-sama, of course) to eat ramen at the Ichiraku, while _also _conning him into paying for it all? How indeed, when he should have, by rights, gone home the _instant_ he had stepped back through those gates?

Neji sighed as he made his way out of the restaurant and into the busy street outside. His hot shower was long overdue.

* * *

A flurry of pink was all he saw before something (or someone) abruptly launched itself at his back, clinging on for dear life. 

Smooth arms wrapped themselves around his neck, and his assailant just hung there until he heard a rather familiar high-pitched voice squeal into his ear.

"Nejiiiiiiiiiii, when did you get back?"

The only thing that kept Hyuuga Neji from immediately throwing..._whatever_ it was off his back and repeatedly stabbing it with a kunai, was the fact that a) he didn't have the energy, having just returned from his extensive mission and b) he recognized the scent that instantly overwhelmed his senses with an inviting mixture of jasmine, fresh air and dirt.

Oh yeah, it would _have _to be Haruno Sakura.

* * *

Sakura blinked a little at her own audacity. What in the world had possessed her to initiate such intimate contact with the Hyuuga? _Especially_ after he had just spent months away on an ANBU mission? She could just as easily have found herself dead before she even knew what was happening - one tended to be rather fidgety and anxious after being gone for so long. It just so happened that Hyuuga Neji was calmer than most. 

Suddenly, she realized that he was deliberately keeping still (and doing a great impression of the statue right behind them), which she took as a good sign to proceed- he probably wouldn't be forcibly removing her arms from her body any time soon, not unless he was in a _really _bad mood.

Laughing a little at the absurdity of the situation (which she herself had instigated), she lightly swung her legs and tapped the back of his knees. No response. She shifted up his body a little until she could rest her elbows on his shoulders (it was more comfortable), and felt him stiffen just a fraction- she supposed that he wanted her to get off but was too polite (read: well-bred) to tell her so.

"Just now," he replied, finally answering her question from before. "Naruto dragged me to Ichiraku right after the mission. You know how he is, once he gets it in his head that he wants something, he won't take no for an answer."

She laughed, "Still, you should at least have told him that you needed a shower, 'cause you really do. You look like hell and you smell even worse. He probably would have agreed."

She laughed again as he turned around to glower at her.

"Didn't remember asking for your opinion, woman. And if I remember correctly, you're the one who jumped on me."

"Oh, so it's 'woman' now?" she teased, delighted that he was taking the bait. "What happened to the good old days when you would beg me to heal your pitiful ass?"

"I don't beg," he replied blandly, and she reached around to smack him playfully on the arm.

Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw him wince -almost imperceptibly- but with her trained medic-nin eye, she caught it, and realizing he was probably hurt somewhere but was too arrogant to say anything, immediately leapt off.

"What, injured _again_, Hyuuga? You're losing your touch," she smirked, successfully managing to cover up the tiny niggling worry in her voice and replacing it with her usual witty repartee- it was a comfortable pattern for the two, since they had become friends so long ago, which she immediately fell back into.

"Seems like you make a habit out of hurting yourself."

He rolled his eyes. "Only so we can have these moments together," he shot back.

She smiled. She had missed his sorry ass after he had left for such a long mission. She had been left without his strangely comforting presence and steady shoulder to lean on for far too long.

"Well, better come with me then. I was heading to the hospital anyway."

He grunted his assent, and dutifully followed her as she bounced down the street. Tsunade-sama would have his hide if she caught wind of him defying his medic-nin's direct orders, after all.

It seemed like his hot shower could wait.

* * *

_-end chapter 2-_

I'm gonna be introducing more characters one by one, and hopefully by the end you would have met everyone in the rookie 9, plus Gai's team of course. And this chapter actually had some NejiSaku action! Huzzah! (Although it was kinda mild hehe. But don't worry, I have major plans for those two lol snickers) Feedback is greatly appreciated! And thank you again for reading.


	3. Yearning

**Without a Doubt** by lilmisssushi

**A/N: **I honestly don't know what to do with Sasuke's character at the moment, what with the latest manga chapters and all…he's totally a minefield right now, and gosh, I just _know_ that his character's gonna turn out of whack.

And as the lovely Cashew Nuts mentioned in a review, I'm kinda swinging between humour with slight angst and drama making an appearance in the story. Sorry about that, it was unconscious on my part, but now I'll just pretend like I was planning that all along, to show the contrast between the feelings Sakura has for Sasuke, and the feelings she'll eventually have for our dearest Neji ehehe lol.

Oh yeah, one more thing…'ware the boy/boy love coming up okay? 'Tis kinda my last warning XD.

**Summary: **For Sakura, being in love with Sasuke is a given. She's loved him through rejection and betrayal and everything in between, so why should she stop now?

For Neji, blaming everything on fate is the most tried-and-true method around. But throw in Haruno Sakura, and his extremely versatile excuse just doesn't seem to cut it anymore. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. (NejiSaku)(SasuNaru)

**Disclaimer:** Nope, don't own.

* * *

**_Chapter III- Yearning_**

**_

* * *

_**

Sakura was surprisingly adept at concealing her emotions, and Neji couldn't for the life of him, read her, like he could with everyone else. Sure, he was a self-proclaimed expert at reading body language (with help from his Byakugan) and using it to his advantage to intimidate his opponent, but with Sakura – he could never truthfully say he knew what she was _thinking._ It was as if she had this whole other… _personality_ thing going on in her mind. He soon realized that what she did and what she really thought, were two completely different things. And all he knew was that he could **not** take Haruno Sakura at face-value. She was so much more different than what he had imagined her to be.

He guessed that it pretty much explained why he always felt so…_disoriented_ around her. Yes, that would probably be why…

* * *

Neji soon came striding out of the hospital alongside Sakura after just having come out of it together.

(They'd met Tenten inside, who had been in the midst of passing on some messages from her ANBU captain to the nurses. She'd smiled brightly as soon as she saw the two of them together and slyly asked what they were planning to do for the rest of the day, waggling her eyebrows in Sakura's direction all the while. She laughed heartily and slapped Neji on the back when he'd curtly told her to mind her own business. And if it were anyone else, Neji would have effectively silenced the person with a single one of his patented Hyuuga glares ™, but Tenten knew him too well and had become immune to that sort of thing. And to coin Shikamaru's most insightful words of the year, women were trouble, kunoichi were even more trouble, and female teammates were the most troublesome of all. Frankly, Neji agreed.)

He looked over at Sakura, who appeared to be off in her own world…she had seemed to be distracted about something all morning, but it _didn't_ really explain why their _hands_ kept 'accidentally' brushing against each other...

It made him twitch, involuntarily.

The Hyuuga wasn't normally a very touchy-feely person, and it was _strange _that he didn't really…mind…having her so _close_.

It was entirely uncharacteristic of him, but sweat was starting to prickle at the back of his neck, and he wondered if he should…discreetly try to move away…or not.

He settled for clearing his throat – loudly.

It caused her to jump nearly three feet in the air, but he couldn't say he was sorry for it…except when she snatched her hand away from his, and turned to look at him with wide eyes.

"Erm…sorry about that…I was thinking…about…stuff."

(He looked at her with that expression that made her feel like an idiot, and she inwardly smacked herself for how lame that had sounded.)

"I've been uh…thinking…"

His steady gaze was making her uncomfortable.

"About?"

She opened her mouth to tell him, but quickly shut it after thinking about it again. "I…"

"It's not a problem if you don't tell me," Neji replied calmly, cutting her off and covering up the fact that he'd felt an odd twinge of disappointment when he'd realized what she'd been trying to get at- or rather, whom. (_It's the Uchiha, its **always** about the Uchiha.)_

Neji then regally picked up the pace, his hair flowing silkily behind him.

Sakura was left amazed that his hair was still so…_perfect_, after him having survived a two-month trek in the bushes with Naruto. Shaking her head, she caught up to him, and pulled on his sleeve, like a child would. He turned to look at her, keeping his face neutral.

"Planning to ask for my wordly wisdom now?"

Sakura laughed nervously. "If you don't mind…"

He gave her his most convincing mock glare. (_Funny how he could only ever **pretend** to be irritated around her_).

"After you dragged me, against my will might I add, to the hospital and back, you expect me to just give in and help you?"

"Well uh…yeah."

He sighed. "Fine. Come to dinner with me. My place."

Sakura blinked slowly up at him, a little lost.

"What, at the Hyuuga Manor again? That place is creepy, and having Hanabi stare me down while I'm eating all the time isn't good for my digestive system."

"I don't care about your digestive system. I'm hungry, tired, and dirty and if you insist on my company then I'm afraid you'll have to come with me."

She grinned up at him mischievously, daring to tease him; "You make it sound like it's a chore."

He raised his eyebrow at her, the muscles of his jaw quirking a little. (She could tell! He was trying to suppress a smile! After spending several years of companionship with him, she had learnt to interpret every single little nuance of his facial expressions- she knew it would come in handy one day!)

He gazed down at her, suddenly turning serious. "…Isn't it?"

_For some reason Sakura could **fee**l the weight of his simple question, _but she quickly shook her thoughts off. _What was wrong with her?_

She laughed. "Haha, what do **you** think? You're a real stick in the mud, but **I** still like you."

"Hn."

They then headed off companionably towards the Hyuuga district, Sakura threading her arm though his (and earning a glare in return), while she chattered about all the gossip he had missed while he'd been away.

* * *

Naruto decided to hunt Sasuke down after finishing off about a dozen bowls of ramen at Ichiraku, for some much needed male-bonding time.

Standing up and smacking his lips, he stretched a little and happily paid the owner. His pockets were jingling with money, after all, having just gotten his pay-check off the old hag's flunkies, aka Tsunade's administrative officers.

Looking around at the busy street outside, he was reminded of the time when Jiraiya had been chased down it by a horde of angry women for getting discovered peeking in the bath house. Naruto had been proud to say that he'd set the whole thing up and it had been the most successfully carried out prank of his entire nineteen-year old life. He smiled a little to himself when he remembered the crestfallen look on the old pervert's face as he tried to bluster his way out by pleading innocent, but faltered as he remembered the beating he'd gotten after Jiraiya inevitably found out he'd been framed. It had been worth it though.

Ahh, he was glad to be home.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto had grown up to easily become one of the strongest shinobi in Konoha, and was well on his way to achieving his dream of becoming Hokage. (Tsunade had grudgingly started training him little by little, starting out with trusting the blonde with the more political side of such a position, and testing out his diplomatic abilities. He'd failed every single one of her 'tests' but she'd vowed to mould him like he'd never been moulded before. Which meant assigning him menial paperwork that she had no time to finish herself, and punching him into submission with her insane strength whenever he slacked off or complained.)

Everyone who knew him approved of the decision, and the Rookie 9 plus Gai's team had wasted no time in throwing him the party of the decade when they'd found out. Some of the villagers were still suspicious of his character, but he was backed up by some of the most powerful and influential figureheads they knew, such as **two** of the original legendary Sennin, the newest Kazekage, Gaara, to whom which Konoha's and Suna's stable alliance could now be attributed to, as well as the blessings from the Snow country, from whence Naruto and his teammates had once gone on a mission to save their princess. He also took up as many high-ranking missions as he could, and was highly respected by everyone else he came across.

It still didn't say much for his personality, though, because even if he had grown in ways beyond belief, he was still the same old Naruto, with his determination, naïveté, and damned trusting ways.

The women of Konoha _could _attain to the fact that he had grown to be an extremely handsome boy though, no – **man - **whose chiseled features and broad shoulders yet childish countenance instantly gained him the adoration and favour of little girls and old ladies everywhere. His own fan-club was steadily growing, with Hinata not-so-surprisingly at its head.

Sakura had once even witnessed a rather disturbing scene at that party wherein Ino had sighed and rested her chin in her hands while staring off in Naruto's direction dreamily. Sakura had poked her rather un-delicately in the shoulder and asked her what the hell she was looking at. Ino had swatted her hand away, still seemingly in a trance, and said;

(Sakura would never forget this)-

"Damn, girl…when did he get those kinda **abs**? I wasn't aware I'd been missing out on so much talent! Been keeping him to yourself, ey? And he has a jaw line to **die **for…"

Sakura's mouth fell open in an 'O' and she grabbed Ino's shoulders before shaking them firmly.

"I did NOT just hear you say that about NARUTO!"

"Mmm I'm afraid you did, forehead-girl. I'd like to get me some of **that**!"

Sakura was scarred for life.

* * *

Naruto looked down at the ground, and, judging by the length of the shadows that were cast by the sun, decided that it was already past midday. He instantly knew where Sasuke would be at that time of day, and immediately sprinted off in the direction of the training grounds.

He flying tackled him to the ground in a semi-hug when he found him. (He was almost sure that Sasuke had heard his approach – he had never done very well in any of Kakashi's stealth classes- but he supposed the Uchiha had also realized it was him and allowed him to get close enough.)

"Sasuke! I'm back!"

"I realized, dobe," his cold voice came floating back. But at least he was acting _normal, _and Naruto was grateful for it. He'd been afraid that Sasuke would shut himself off from everyone all over again considering what had…happened…before he'd left.

* * *

Sasuke **had** already been acting…differently, as of late though, Naruto had to admit, even considering the fact that they'd finally managed to get their friendship back on track after the whole debacle with Itachi, and Sasuke's defection from Konoha for Sound, which had taken up the better half of their lives. Naruto had thought that everything would finally be alright now that Sasuke was back and had recovered…but Sasuke had never been predictable, and this time was no different.

And being on probation at home while Naruto went off on his extensive mission probably hadn't helped any.

Tsunade trusted the Uchiha only because Naruto did, and while she had been lenient with him for abandoning the village, she let him off only because he **had** single-handedly destroyed the Sound Complex and had therefore eliminated what had been a huge threat to Konoha's livelihood. And, although she was loathe to say it, he **was** truly the last Uchiha, and there would have been uproar over it (from her many advisors) had she ordered him jailed or even executed.

He'd have to prove his worth if he wanted to regain the village's trust though, but for Naruto's sake, Tsunade had been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, seeing as he, along with the blonde, were two of the most powerful shinobi of their generation, and undeniably brought out the best in each other.

But then…Naruto had left on a rather sour note two months back. Sasuke had gotten sort of…discomfited when Naruto was assigned yet another A-rank mission, and had been strangely reluctant to see him go. He'd wanted to follow along but Tsunade had stepped in and forbidden it.

They'd had a huge confrontation over it, the whole shebang. It had ended when Naruto heard Sasuke raise his voice and truly **yell **at him for the first time in his life. He'd never seen Sasuke get worked up over anything before.

It was the day before he was due to leave, and they'd stood in the rain, outside of Naruto's apartment. He could still remember the look on Sasuke's face as he expressed his wish for Naruto to stay, his voice thick, hoarse. His hair hung over his eyes, but even so, he could tell they were _gleaming_ with frustration and…worry.

"_Why don't you get it, dobe? There's **no** point in me staying here if-"_

At that point, Sasuke had cut himself off, but both of them knew_ exactly_ what he'd been about to set in stone with words. Naruto had nothing to say, he was so shocked by Sasuke's sudden display of emotion. He supposed afterwards that it hadn't actually been so sudden. There'd been a sort of nameless tension building up between them for a long time, but he'd successfully ignored it up until that point- the mission just acted as some sort of catalyst.

Naruto was left completely confused as he departed, but all he knew was that he _missed_ Sasuke when they were apart, and wanted to set things right again. He'd have to take the initiative if he wanted to get anywhere though, because God knew that Sasuke was the master of denial and his solution to everything was to avoid a problem rather than fix it.

* * *

Shrugging the memories off in his typical carefree manner, Naruto smiled brightly and yelled, "Sasuke-teme! You should have seen how many times I had to save Neji's butt! He got injured AGAIN so I had to save everyone by mys-"

"Not everyone's got your dumb luck, baka."

Sasuke pushed Naruto off him a little and they sat up, the Uchiha brushing some non-existent dirt off his clothing while Naruto looked on and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

He sat back on his haunches to think about that one. "Ah well, I suppose he DID push me out of the way of that chubby dude with the weird-ass horns who would've pierced me with his green sword…"

"Pfft."

(At the mention of Neji's name, Sasuke had stiffened a little. Although the two had so much in common, for some reason, they had never seemed to get along.

As for Naruto, he thought Neji was cool and all, but a teensy bit uptight when it came to letting go and having a little fun. He didn't know how Sakura could stand being around him for long periods of time, they were complete opposites and yet such good friends. Sasuke wasn't usually any more agreeable, either, but he still allowed Naruto to drag him around to his hearts' content, at least, so he couldn't really whinge about that.)

The two of them settled on the ground, and Naruto started recounting his adventures, exaggerating only _a little_ when the occasion called for it. Sasuke, of course, sat there looking bored, in his classic 'brooding' pose. His chin rested on his steepled fingers, and soon, he'd completely tuned the blonde's rather annoying (_but strangely reassuring) _voice out…

-------

"_Why don't you get it, dobe? There's **no** point in me staying here if-"_

_It had been raining. The muffled sounds of his footsteps echoed the sluggish beating of his heart. He'd walked away, afterwards, ashamed of his words, ashamed of_ _**his feelings, **ashamed of_ _the sentiments that accompanied them._

_He stopped. Lifting his face to the grey skies, he let the rainwater flow down the planes of his face, droplets of it sticking to his eyelashes, making them heavy. He didn't want to open his eyes ever again…_

'_This has got to stop,' he realized, not for the first time. 'This has **got** to stop.'_

------

Naruto kept babbling on about something or other but Sasuke paid no mind until the dobe grabbed his shoulders and roughly shook them, all the while screaming "TEME! Are you listening to me, you bastard! I said I missed you!"

_Oh._

Sasuke recovered quickly by irritably smacking the blonde upside the head. Naruto stared back at him a little indignantly, his headband slightly skewed to the side and a tuft of blonde hair covering his left eye. "Bastard, what was that for?"

"…"

"You what?"

"Finally I could get some training done without you interrupting and dragging me off to eat all the time, idiot."

Naruto grinned mischievously at this, his eyes glinting - he knew it was Sasuke's inarticulate way of indirectly saying he had missed the blonde's company as well. He was starting to think he knew the dark-haired Avenger too well.

"God, Sasuke, you have no life. It's always training, training, and oh yeah, MORE training."

Sasuke's head came up at that, and his eyes shot a murderous glare in Naruto's oblivious direction. It was all the warning that Naruto got before the Uchiha lunged at his throat, grabbing it and squeezing it only for it to be replaced by a kawarimi a second later.

"Ha! Teme, I can't believe you fell for the oldest trick in the book!" Naruto taunted, crouched in a tree a safe distance away.

"…"

"I bet I could beat you so hard with my NEW and IMPROVED jutsus, that you won't be able to get up for days!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke rose up to the challenge. He supposed it would be a good warm-up exercise to beat Naruto into the dust and once and for all, show him exactly how superior he was in comparison.

He smirked his all-too-familiar smirk and took the bait, "As if you could, do-**be," **he purposefully emphasized the insult, and crossed his arms, the corners of his lips lifting up slightly.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and got ready; "Bring it, teme."

Sasuke growled in response, and then they were off, Sasuke's speed making up for Naruto's enthusiasm. Naruto and his various kage-bunshins ran amok, and Sasuke could have turned on his Sharingan to see through them, but he didn't. It was a fight between friends, after all.

It was the most fun Sasuke had in a long time.

* * *

They were still at it a couple hours later, and while many others would have given up by that point, the both of them just kept goading one another to keep going, regardless of how tired each of them were.

And while the fight had first consisted of a chance for the both of them to show each other up with any recently learnt techniques and newfound skills, they soon gave up any pretenses of actually sparring, and slowly but surely descended into just a full-on physical fight where the both of them just kicked, punched, scratched or bit whatever they could lay hands on.

It was strangely more satisfying that way.

They wrestled for awhile in the rather muddy field, neither gaining the upper hand.

Eventually though, Naruto's brute strength and stamina won out.

And Sasuke would never admit it, but truthfully, Naruto was naturally more proficient in that arena with his slightly shorter, but more powerfully built frame.

(Uchihas were known to be more long and lean, with tightly wired muscles that allowed for more speed and flexibility.)

Soon, Naruto had him pinned beneath him in a dead lock, with Sasuke on his stomach.

And just as Sasuke was about to counter with a right hook to the ankle which would have flipped the blonde over, giving him a chance to knee the baka in his well-deserving stomach, he froze. _He…couldn't…move._

Naruto had shown a surprising amount of forethought and tactical planning, and had completely thrown Sasuke off with a full shadow body binding technique that he had learnt off Shikamaru.

_Damn the number one surprising ninja of Konoha to hell._

Sasuke winced a little but didn't make a sound as Naruto wrenched the Uchiha's arm around to twist it behind his back.

"I won," Naruto declared, gasping all the while, and leaned into Sasuke's neck, trying not to breathe too hard. Fighting with Sasuke really taxed him out.

Sasuke, knowing it would annoy the dobe, stayed silent, smirking all the while.

"Stop smirking, bastard! I can tell you're doing it!"

He honestly couldn't help it, and attempted to fight back the chuckle trying to escape his throat. Listening to Naruto screech about nothing was oddly entertaining…

He became still though, when he felt Naruto lean in just that bit closer, lips suddenly almost _brushing_ against the pale skin of his neck, warm breath on the place where his curse seal used to be. (It had shriveled up into nothing once he had killed Orochimaru all those years ago.) His chest pressed against Sasuke's back, strong, tanned arms holding back Sasuke's.

Naruto abruptly flipped him over (he was still in the dead lock) and then they were face-to-face. He didn't know exactly what was happening, but Naruto's eyes were _piercing_ into his, making him suddenly and inexplicably _freaking_ _uncomfortable_. "Say it, bitch," Sasuke glared up at him in response, surprised by the _gruffness_ of Naruto's voice and the finality of his tone.

_He could feel himself** blushing** from the contact and he hated himself for it._

Shallow breathing slowly filled the sudden silence between them, and it was as if the moment was suspended in time, the two of them in their very own universe. They stared at each other, unblinking.

Naruto looked away first.

------

Sasuke was confused. What…had…just happened? He continued to lay there, stock still, gasping and glaring up at Naruto who was unceremoniously sitting on his stomach and making it even harder to breathe _(and in more ways than one_).

Naruto turned back to face the Uchiha. To break the strangely awkward moment, he bounced a little on Sasuke's abdomen, an expression of glee suddenly lighting up his face.

"Ha! I guess you weren't expecting that huh, teme?"

Sasuke let his breath hiss out between his teeth, putting Naruto's unusual behaviour aside for the moment. "Get off me, dobe."

"Nope! Not until you admit I won."

Sasuke closed his eyes, willing himself to remember how to get out of the stupid hold the bind - and Naruto - had on him. He had also seen Shikamaru do it a whole bunch of times, but had never once thought to copy it with his Sharingan…

Meanwhile, Naruto had started arranging the Uchiha's limbs so that he resembled a scarecrow. Sasuke tried to restrain himself from blasting a chidori-sized hole through the idiot's stomach.

'Do…not…kill…dobe,' he muttered under his breath, and tried pumping some chakra through his veins in the slim hopes that it would be enough to counter the damned jutsu.

"If you pay for ramen for a week I'll get off."

"No."

"Come on…I did win after all, bastard."

"No."

"You're so cheap!"

"Whatever."

Naruto glared back at the Uchiha. He was sick of the Uchiha's one-worded answers. Yes, it was time to make a stand! He would just ignore Sasuke right back!

------

Twenty minutes later, they were still in the exact same position, and the game was getting old. It seemed Naruto wasn't cut out for ignoring people. His stomach grumbled loudly in complaint. He sighed. He couldn't help it, he needed food! Finally, he burst out; "Why not?"

"Hn."

"That's what you always say."

"Unh."

"Fine. Five days worth?"

"Nn."

"Three days?"

"Ngh."

Naruto sighed loudly and gave in. "Okay. Just for today?"

Sasuke grunted a 'yes' and then Naruto stood up, brushing off his clothes. He was about to walk away, whistling, when he looked back down to see Sasuke still lying there, glaring up at him.

Grinning abashedly, he undid the jutsu (he paused for a moment before remembering the special twist of the fingers that accompanied the seal) and held out a hand to the Uchiha, who grabbed it roughly and hauled himself up.

Then, the duo headed off towards the Ichiraku, Naruto babbling on in his one-sided conversation about anything and everything, with the Uchiha occasionally muttering an insult or two under his breath to show he was listening. Neither of them would admit it, but both were completely exhausted, sweaty and dirty, but laughing and content.

* * *

-end chapter 3-

A/N: Err…I'll pick up the pace soon…this is officially the end of all the background stuff, and the storyline will hopefully make an appearance sometime soon too lol. More NejiSaku goodness next time, hopefully…I'm trying to build their relationship up slowly, see, and hahaha it's killing me too XD.

And arggh spoiler alert/ _the new team 7's interaction in the latest chapter is so aww!_/

Sorry just had to stick that in lol.

Ooh one more thing. Thank you to all my lovely reviewers! You guys rock! And thanks again for reading this far! ;-)

* * *


	4. Surfacing

**Without a Doubt** by lilmisssushi

A/N: Erm…I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this chap. A lot of stuff happens so if it doesn't really make sense now, it _should _make sense later, although that's not much of an excuse :) Please tell me what you think.

**Summary: **For Sakura, being in love with Sasuke is a given. She's loved him through rejection and betrayal and everything in between, so why should she stop now?

For Neji, blaming everything on fate is the most tried-and-true method around. But throw in Haruno Sakura, and his extremely versatile excuse just doesn't seem to cut it anymore. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. (NejiSaku)(SasuNaru)

**Disclaimer:** Nope, don't own.

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_**Chapter IV- Surfacing**_

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_Back when they still didn't know each other very well, there had actually been a time when Sakura had been too busy to see to Neji herself for one of his usual after-mission check-ups, and had sent one of her many (what he termed as) 'minions' to treat him instead._

_He had not appreciated the gesture. _

_He had ended up pushing past the replacement medic and terrorizing the assistant at the front counter (by glaring daggers and probably scaring her half out of her wits) with all the hidden grace of a coiled tiger. And finally, he stalked along the hallways of the hospital with bandages trailing every which way, blood dripping off his arm and onto the spotless ground, until he found her. _

_She had been in the midst of updating the medical charts of one of her more regular patients when he had shown up, grabbed her arm, and forcibly proceeded to drag her halfway back across the hospital to where his bed was situated._

"_You. Me. In my room. Now." He had ground out, and the surprised look on her face - the Hyuuga could be scary when he wanted to be - quickly disappeared as it dissolved into a rather unfamiliar smirk. _

"_Why, Neji-san, I had no idea you were so desperate for my attention. You could have just asked, you know."_

"_Don't patronize me!"_

_She stepped closer to him, and tried to hold in her laugh as she caused him to back up against the wall. She placed her fingertips against the warm blue cotton of his hospital shirt, and tiptoed and leaned in close enough to whisper in his ear;_

"_That wasn't my intention, Neji-san."_

_Then, she pushed open the door of his room and approached his bed. He narrowed his eyes and followed her. She motioned for him to sit, but he ignored her._

"_So, what's up?" she asked, sitting herself down and crossing her legs at the ankles primly. He glared at her, saying nothing._

"_I haven't got all day, Neji-san!" Sakura pressed him in a sing-song voice, knowing it would piss him off. She grinned inwardly. (Sakura 1, Hyuuga 0)._

"…"

_She patted the bedspread invitingly, but he crossed his arms, refusing to budge like the true human icicle that he was. She wondered how far she could push him before he'd snap._

"_Come to mommy Sakura!" she cooed, waving wildly with her hands._

"…"

"_Aww, don't you love me anymore?"_

"…_!"_

_Finally she took pity on him and sighed, giving up. "What was it that you wanted then, if not treatment, Neji-san?_

"_Why did you send someone else to heal me?" he asked, and was suddenly aware of how childish he sounded. "I thought we had an understanding."_

_She was momentarily startled by the sincerity of his tone. She blinked a couple of times before answering._

"_Well…I guess I was thinking that you're probably sick of seeing my face every time you get injured. I'll become a bad omen for you if we keep going at this rate."_

_He 'humph'ed lightly. "That's for me to decide, Haruno. And it's my prerogative if I want to keep getting the best services the med-squad has to offer."_

_Sakura looked up to find Neji's pearly-eyed gaze trained on her. Was that…a **compliment** she detected somewhere in that bland remark of his?_

"_Since when did you start thinking of me so highly, hmm? Not that I'm complaining." She directed a huge, blinding sunshine-y smile at him._

_He chose not to grace that comment with a response, but relaxed his tense body just a little._

"_Well, if we're going to be doing this on a long-term basis, I think we better start over again," she held her hand out in his direction. "Hi, I'm Sakura, not 'Haruno' and not 'woman' either." She grinned._

_He paid no mind to her outstretched hand, but sat down on the bed beside her._

"_You should really cease with the formalities then. It gets tiring."_

_It seemed they had come to a truce. _

"_My pleasure, **Neji**." She boldly placed a finger under his chin and turned his face towards her. Then she pulled a tongue depressor (aka an ice cream stick) out of nowhere and threatened him with it._

"_Now, say ahh!"_

"_You've **got** to be kidding me." _

* * *

It was a couple of weeks after Naruto and Neji's return, when Ino found Sakura, her lifelong best friend/rival, entering her family's flower shop and causing the little bell placed above the door to tinkle engagingly.

She beamed widely in welcome and rushed over to throw her arms around Sakura's neck, a bouquet of roses and peonies in hand and all.

"Forehead-girl! You came at just the right time! I was gonna come find you later today actually, 'cause it seemed as if your pitiful excuse for an existence disappeared off the planet once the Hyuuga came back."

Ino paused at this point and threw a conspiratorial wink in Sakura's direction before waggling her fine blonde eyebrows suggestively. Sakura just stood there, amused at her friend's antics and babbling and shook her head, laughing.

"Which reminds me…"

Ino placed a finger thoughtfully against her lush lips, before declaring that she and Sakura should catch up since it was the mid-morning lull in her floral sales. She daintily stepped her way back to where the register was located and dropped her armful of flowers on the table.

"Mom!" she yelled, "I'm going out with Sakura okay! I'll be back soon!"

"Alright, dear!" came the expected response, floating in from the garden out back.

Ino grinned and spun on her heel, sashaying back to Sakura and grabbing her arm, before they headed outside together and to the nearest café shop, bickering like the truly dysfunctional best friends that they were.

* * *

After Sasuke had left for Orochimaru, Ino and Sakura had taken the high road and decided that friendship was a lot more important - especially in the dangerous world of shinobi, where death could literally be around the corner- than anything else that stood in their way, and that they would never fight over a mere guy again. Ino had been the one to approach first and attempt to get their friendship kick-started again, and for that, Sakura had been extremely grateful, in her time of need.

Ino had always had the bigger heart, it seemed.

Soon, they became inseparable once again, and on the days Sakura had off work, she found herself a regular fixture in the Yamanaka's living room.

(Besides, as Ino grew up, she grew out of her, admittedly, rather shallow affections for the Uchiha, whereas Sakura had been the one to hold on, much to the dismay of her best friend.

"You need to pick yourself up out of the dirt, forehead girl! Brush it off and get back on that horse!" she had impulsively and spiritedly yelled in Sakura's ear one day, which caused Sakura to wince and dearly hope that her suspicions about having somehow burst an eardrum would not be confirmed.

"Maybe I like the dirt," she had replied, dryly. Ino had merely sighed and let her off the hook.

Ino thought that Sakura could be too empathetic and forgiving for her own good, sometimes. It would be the death of her. Of course, she voiced these suspicions out loud, to which Sakura scoffed at.)

She had really missed her loud, confident, sassy best friend- and Ino could happily say the same.

Ino had confessed to missing having a _girl_ for a best friend, because, there were some things that she just naturally couldn't talk to her guy friends (namely Shikamaru and Chouji) about, as open-minded as she was.

Not that she hadn't tried.

But she had caught on after several catastrophic events that had caused even the utterly laidback Shika to break down in (manly) tears.

Sakura stifled a laugh as she recalled the time Ino had managed to somehow (violently) coerce Chouji into going lingerie shopping with her.

It had been complete with _personal modeling_ of all the outfits she had picked out for herself. Chouji had keeled over, blood spurting out of his nose, more than once, and finally she took pity on him and allowed him to return to the safety of his home and his chips, all in one piece. She had never seen him run so fast.

Ino had also grown up to be a beautiful, curvaceous woman (whose height was a constant source of annoyance for Sakura, who was entirely too petite for her own taste.) She had grown out her platinum blonde hair again after the Chuunin exam, but hadn't forgotten the reason she had cut it in the first place. (It was now as long as it had been before, and in pretty much the same style, although she liked to vary it every now and then.) She was a huge flirt and had hordes of men lusting after her, with her deep blue eyes and clear porcelain skin, but she was also a fully capable kunoichi whose expertise lay in interrogation.

The Yamanaka's mind infusion technique was put to good use with Ino, who had learnt to interpret body language as well. She was now of jounin status and had ended up in the examination department of Shikamaru's tactical planning division, which was really no mean feat.

Sakura had also been subjected to Ino's beady eyes and sticky nose too many times for her to count, so she wasn't really all that surprised when Ino got promoted to being Morino Ibiki's assistant and guilted Sakura into bar-hopping with her into the lone hours of the night.

* * *

They settled at a cute café shop which had little white tables covered with huge red umbrellas by the roadside. They sat down, Sakura leaning back in her seat and Ino crossing her legs, causing the hem of her purple skirt to rise slightly, and revealing the tight spandex shorts she wore underneath, much to the disappointment of several male passerby's.

Ino looked over at Sakura inquiringly to find her staring off into the distance, and proceeded to flick her on the forehead. "What is it, forehead girl? Having another episode with yourself again?"

------

This had become an inside joke between the two, because after the preliminaries of the Chuunin exam, despite their professed 'mutual dislike' for one another, they had trained together a couple of times while their male counterparts had been slacking off elsewhere. Ino had been astonished to find that Sakura, indeed, had an alter-ego (and a manic one at that) which constantly made its presence known, whether she wanted it to or not.

Ino had found out when she had once again been prevented from fully tapping into Sakura's inner psyche using her family's mind technique. (She had been booted out of Sakura's head through no indecisive means a number of times, and had since learnt to keep far far away.)

She had reluctantly kept it secret after Sakura had threatened, in her friendly way, to keep it to herself, or else Ino's obsession with one Shiranui Genma – and subsequent collection of photos of him naked in the shower – would be made painfully public, which permanently settled the matter.

They had laughed about it afterwards, and Ino teased Sakura, saying that now, she at least knew what went on in Sakura's mind whenever she stared off into space.

-------

Sakura smiled and answered Ino's question from before;

"Shut up, Ino. What was it that you wanted to tell me? You needn't have dragged me out all the way out here just to say hi. So let me hear your excuse."

"Gosh, you really don't have a social life, do you? Well, I suppose it's my responsibility to get your lazy butt out in the world, otherwise you'd wallow at home all the time. I'm ashamed to say that my best friend is nineteen years old and hasn't yet been on a single date!"

Sakura groaned and tried to defend herself.

"Oh, not this again, you've really got a one-track mind, Ino-pig. I have** too** been on dates! Just…nothing…serious. Not everyone can find their soul mate by the time they're eighteen like you guys…. Oh yeah, how's Shika doing lately anyway?"

(She had tried changing subjects to get Ino off her back, but unfortunately the blonde saw right through her. Ino narrowed her eyes and waved a manicured finger back and forth menacingly.)

"Now, now you're not getting rid of me that easily. We're gonna get you some male booty eventually, don't you worry about that."

Sakura gaped at her friend's blunt statement.

"Heeey that's not what I meant-"

"Nuh-uh." Ino quickly slapped a hand over Sakura's mouth and 'shh'ed her until she was quiet. She yelped indignantly and glared up at her blonde friend.

"Genma's birthday is in a couple of days and you **are** coming with me to his party, missy. Everyone'll be there and you can't **not **make an appearance."

Sakura licked her hand evilly and watched smugly as Ino recoiled away in disgust before wiping it on a napkin.

"Just watch me."

Ino decided that Sakura really was a hopeless case. She'd be forced to use her ace in the hole at this rate, preferably sooner rather than later. She smirked slyly, batting her lashes, and beckoned Sakura closer. Sakura ignored her.

"Sasuke-kun will be there."

Sakura looked up in surprise. "He **will**? But he usually hates these types of things!"

Ino laughed in a scary manner. "I have my ways…"

"You mean you overheard Naruto begging and succeeding in getting him to go."

"Well…yeah."

* * *

Ino soon left to go back to the flower shop after acquiring Sakura's promise that she'd show up at the highly anticipated party. (Apparently Genma always threw crazy birthday bashes and they'd become infamous over the years.)

Sakura was left to walk alone, deep in thought, back down the street.

Which was how she bumped into Kiba. Akamaru's shaggy head loomed right behind the dog-lover, who greeted Sakura in his usual boisterous manner. She squealed and took the chance to kiss Akamaru on his nose, ruffling the fur between his huge ears.

"Hey Sakura! How come Akamaru is always the one who picks up the ladies? What about me?"

She hugged Akamaru (who had saved her life on more than one occasion) one last time before backtracking to face Kiba.

"Hahaha, what **about** you?"

He pretended to faint in mock distress, his hand held over his heart.

"Ouch, oh, _snap_, you're as cruel as ever," he said, and they grinned at each other.

"Only to you," she replied. He smiled mischievously and then his gaze wandered down the clean lines of her body, gaze obviously appreciative. Her countenance turned murderous when his eyes lingered somewhere below her collar, and she bopped him one over the head.

"Kiba you pervert!"

He yelled out and held up his hands in defense.

"Don't hurt me!" he said, "Think of the baby!" He pointed at Akamaru, who howled back in response.

"And what, pray tell, were you looking at?" she asked, her voice low, and he laughed nervously.

"Nothing, nothing…I just-"At this point, he started sniffing the air, and he stepped carefully around her, being sure to keep out of her punching distance. He circled her, lifting strands of her pink hair every now and then before she slapped his hand away. Then came the bombshell.

"Hey Sakura…how come you smell like the Hyuuga?" he asked, clearly puzzled, while scratching the back of his head.

She was startled by his question (she had forgotten that Kiba had a dog's keen sense of smell and its sanitary habits to boot), so she didn't really think much before answering.

"Oh…about that…"

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It didn't rain much in Konoha, so it had come as a surprise to Sakura and Neji when they were in the midst of training the other day and the heavens opened up and really started to pour down on them. They had persisted with their spar for awhile until Neji had called it quits, his gaze leveling into concern as he noticed how much Sakura resembled a drowned rat in that moment.

Then they ran back to the Hyuuga Compound together, wordlessly. She was soaked through to the bone and shivering by the time they'd arrived back, and his warm living areas were a welcome sight.

Neji had asked her to stay over for the night since the rain didn't look like it'd be letting up any time soon. She'd thanked him softly and her fingers grazed his arm as she brought it up to wipe a smudge mark off his cheek, the flames from the fireplace casting them both in a warm glow.

---------

"…So meanwhile, one of his maids washed and dried my clothes. And I asked him what his secrets were for keeping his hair so shiny- I didn't really expect an answer, you know, but he reached around me and pulled out a couple of bottles of specialized shampoo from his closet, that he'd gotten once, from a mission in Mist."

"Ah, okay," Kiba answered cautiously, "I guess that pretty much explains it…"

She turned towards him and asked him suspiciously why he still sounded so hesitant, almost unconvinced. (While they'd been talking, Sakura had unconsciously chosen a random direction and led them down the street, Akamaru shuffling slowly behind them.)

"Well, I guess it's 'cause that really doesn't sound like the cold-blooded Hyuuga that I know…oh yeah, except for the shampoo bit, I always knew he was a pretty-boy."

Sakura laughed at Neji's expense.

They walked along companionably for awhile, exchanging jokes - and then Kiba stopped, and she bumped into his arm. She raised her head to tell him off about stopping so suddenly, but when she looked up and followed his line of sight, she realized what had caused him to pause.

* * *

Hinata and Naruto were up ahead…Naruto was laughing and saying something while steadily gazing down at the Hyuuga heiress, whereas Hinata was blushing and hiding behind her newly grown hair, adoration clearly labeled in her eyes, and looking just about ready to faint…but most importantly of all, _they were holding hands._

Quickly, Sakura accessed the situation. Sasuke was off to the side, somewhere in the distance, and looking entirely as disgruntled as she felt, (_if not with a hint of something more.) _She guessed that the last Uchiha had witnessed the whole scene, and made a note to herself to get the story off him later. Hinata and Naruto seemed to be oblivious to the entire world, and meanwhile, Kiba had frozen like a startled deer in headlights right beside her.

In a corner of her mind, she dimly remembered that the Inuzuka had made no secret of wanting to be with Hinata for a long time, almost as long as the Hyuuga heiress had been holding that torch for Naruto and Naruto alone. She instantly felt for him.

"Okay, Kiba, you go get Hinata and I'll take off with Sasuke. I'll handle Naruto later."

"Deal," he replied, somewhat breathlessly.

He'd been smacked in the face harder than she thought.

Swiftly, she made good on her end of the bargain, barging right through the middle of the would-be lovers and grabbing Sasuke's hand. She yelled an apology at Naruto and told him she'd talk to him later before stalking off with the Uchiha in tow.

He let her.

* * *

Sakura was in a bad mood by the time that she found Sai training alone in the forests. She sat down on one of the huge boulders along the edges of the clearing and let her shoulders sag a little. It had been a long, tiring day, and if anything, she needed some major therapy. Sai's twisted logic would have to do for now though.

_Sasuke had been even quieter than usual as she walked him home._

"What are you doing here, ugly?" Sai's voice rang out against the silent backdrop that the Konoha training grounds provided.

"Don't you think I see enough of you as it is with our team meetings? Must you haunt me even as I run away from you?"

Sakura seriously felt like kicking another one of her teammates right then. Sai's voice, so similar to Sasuke's, grated along her nerves.

"_What happened?" she asked, trying to subtly poke him in the right direction. He turned to look at her, and there was something that flickered momentarily in his dark gaze, before he averted his eyes once again._

She settled for splitting the ground in warning with a single tap of her heel. Sai gulped audibly and backed away from her.

"Just keep doing what you were doing," she growled dangerously, "I came to find you so that you could hold me back in case I felt the need to pulverize something."

"_Nothing much."_

"Haha you're obviously in denial. That's a new one. How 'bout you just admit that you like staring at my ass while I train? I've seen the way you look at me you know."

"_The dobe's just gotten himself a girlfriend."_

_Sasuke smirked, but she knew him too well to just leave it at that. Her breath hitched somewhat in her chest, and for some odd reason, the back of her eyelids started to prickle a little._

"WHAT THE HELL? Are you insane? Are you **trying **to get smothered in record time or something? And I thought that you'd-"

"_I never thought that he'd get one before I did, you know."_

She cut herself off and tried to swallow back the sudden lump in her throat.

_Sakura realized that Sasuke was trying to justify **something** to himself. He would never tell her what he was feeling, not if he could help it. She surmised that he thought he'd be alone again now that Naruto was distracted…with Hinata. She sighed, turning to him and placing a hand on his upper arm. His clothing felt soft underneath her fingertips._

"You thought what? That I'd listen to your life story while you use and then discard me like your personally whipped punching bag?"

"_Ohh, Sasuke-kun…"_

_He smirked reassuringly, but shrugged her placating hand off. Then he shoved his curled fists into his pockets and walked away. She'd been about to go after him when he turned and saluted her, the corners of his lips lifting up slightly._

She shook her head and got up to leave. It had been a mistake to come.

_She stopped in her tracks and watched, once again, as he left her there, the Uchiha fan on his back fading slowly into the distance._

Sai grabbed her wrist, and pulled her towards him. She tried resisting a bit, but finally she just gave in and collapsed against his chest, grasping onto his shirt helplessly. He awkwardly put his arms around her.

"Hey hey, ugly. You're upset about something."

"_Good night, Sasuke-kun."_

She snorted. "Ya think?"

They stood there in silence for awhile, neither making a move to leave, each contemplating what to say next.

He tentatively patted her on the back. "Well, about what I said before… I didn't really mean it. I don't actually mind you having your way with me as long as you feed me later."

She snuffled kinda pathetically and he pulled back to look down at her seriously. "I'm sorry. Can I take that last line back? I'm still learning, you know."

She smiled a little at his peace offering.

"…Sure. When you put it like that, how can I resist?"

They sat down side-by-side, and then the forest was quiet once again. A leaf floated down and came to rest in her palm, and the breeze picked up a little, sending shivers of something that felt almost like…_anticipation_, down her spine. She wasn't exactly sure what was about to happen, but it was big, she could feel it in the heaviness of the air.

She suddenly thought of Neji. What would he say if he saw her like this? Her heart lifted a little at the thought.

* * *

-end chapter 4-

The ball is finally getting set into motion lol. More to come soon! Thanks for your support everybody! It's party time when the next chapter rolls around!

And gosh, this chapter…seriously didn't turn out the way I thought it would. I really hope the last part made sense to you all, it's a little emotional. You might wanna read kinda slowly there. Meh. Ah well.

Ooh yes, and credits go to the Cashew Nuts for the shampoo idea! XD

Thanks again for reading!

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	5. Confusion

**Without a Doubt** by lilmisssushi

A/N: Hey everyone! I'd just like to say, thank you for all your support!

In this chapter, there may be quite a bit of er...profanity. Lots of it? Sorry bout that lol _–sweatdrops-_. Also…long chapter to make up for the wait. Forgive me? _–authoress smiles nervously and creeps away-_

Oh and all the angst in this chap is dedicated to our favourite Avenger's birthday! Hope you likee!_  
_

**Summary: **For Sakura, being in love with Sasuke is a given. She's loved him through rejection and betrayal and everything in between, so why should she stop now?

For Neji, blaming everything on fate is the most tried-and-true method around. But throw in Haruno Sakura, and his extremely versatile excuse just doesn't seem to cut it anymore. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. (NejiSaku)(SasuNaru)

**Disclaimer: **Nope, I don't own _Naruto…_but I DO own a Neji key-ring! And a Kakashi figurine/piggy bank to boot! -_Shakes it and a couple coins rattle around miserably-_

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**_Chapter V - Confusion_**

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Okay, so she'd given in.

The lure of seeing Sasuke socialize with normal people proved to be too hard to resist, which was the _only reason_ (or so she insisted) why Sakura found herself standing on Genma's doorstep late into the night a few days later, the cold weather causing her to rub her hands together and curse her big-mouthed blonde friend for all she was worth.

She blamed Ino for the entire escapade. The blonde had shown up at the hospital that morning, perfectly coinciding with Sakura's usual three hour lunch break, and found an excuse to drag Sakura off shopping even as she fought back tooth and nail. She hadn't suspected a thing, because this was actually a pretty regular occurrence as far as Ino went. She'd always been a serious shopper and had blown all her savings on a single dress on more than one occasion.

Then the blonde had poked and prodded her all the way into the changing rooms, where Sakura had absolutely no say in any of what she tried on, because as soon as the blonde had seen her tentatively fingering at a nice, conservative, baby blue two-piece sweater (just her style, she mused), she'd whipped Sakura away and into the more…'daring' side of fashion.

She'd calmly threatened to make Sakura's life more miserable than it already was if she didn't oblige and then pulled a magazine out from nowhere before settling down on a stool with it. Sakura didn't even bother to argue because she knew she'd inevitably lose out - Ino's logic was on a whole other level, there was just no keeping up with her, sometimes.

The blonde continued to flick through the pages of her 'Haute Couture Fashion in Fire Country' magazine without a care in the world as Sakura struggled through outfit after outrageous outfit, pausing every now and then to step out and model in front of her friend and the full length mirror, only to have Ino 'hmm' and 'ahh', before sending her back in to change again.

After what felt like eternity, Sakura finally called out, "Okay, last one!"

"Uh huh," came the uninspired reply. Ino continued to pick her nail polish, bored, and inwardly noted that she'd need another manicure soon.

It was then that Sakura gracefully stepped out from behind the dressing room door once again, a pale light shining all around her and casting highlights in her hair and making her eyes glitter emerald like cats' eyes. Ino's jaw dropped straight to the ground, comically, in slow motion.

"You…t-that…it's…PERFECT!" she screamed, blinking madly at the sight before her.

It was as if her best friend had instantaneously turned into a babe. Sakura had shucked a pen through her hair and twisted it into a bun awhile ago as she was getting tired of it sticking to her neck as she changed. On her petite, yet curvy form, she wore a deep burgundy red V-neck dress that dipped quite low in the front and flowed prettily all the way to her knees, yet still drew attention to her longish, smooth-skinned legs. The waist was slightly cinched in, highlighting her narrow waist, and her delicate collarbones were on prominent display due to the not-so-modest open V-neck. It was also backless. Best of all, the dress was of a silky material which clung in all the right places like one of Sakura's kick-ass gloves.

It seemed like Ino's daring taste and Sakura's demure style had struck a happy medium in the form of that elegant red dress.

"Buy it NOOOOOW!" Ino ordered.

Sakura headed off towards the paying counter obediently, but then made the mistake of wondering when she'd have the chance to wear it, out loud. Ino took the opportunity to remind her about her promise to attend a certain party, and Sakura groaned. She then attempted to weasel her way out of it by calling on the ever-popular 'I'm busy at work' card. 'So many people to save, so little time', that sort of thing, she'd desperately pleaded, but Ino countered by informing her that she'd already asked Hokage-sama to let Sakura off for the rest of the day (to which Tsunade happily agreed.)

"Seriously, even SHE said you need to go out more. And that I'm a good influence on you. And that you should be grateful that you have such an awesome best friend."

Sakura groaned again. It was _so much _like her damn shishou to plot with her best friend behind her back. She'd have to steal all the sake bottles (the ones Shizune had no idea about) from Tsunade-sama's many 'emergency' stashes around her office for revenge. Yes. That was the best course of action from this point.

Sakura considered making a run for it while Ino was looking the other way, but dismissed the thought after much comtemplation. Most likely, the blonde would hunt her down and then make her pay. It would be most beneficial to them both if she just put in a slight appearance, to get Ino off her back. Gosh, the things she did for her friends.

* * *

Sakura sighed as she blew on her hands again. 

She could hear the music pounding from inside, and voices seeped into her ears as she stood outside waiting. Lights flickered every now and then, and Sakura drew her jacket tightly around her. Her feet, encased in sexy black kitten heels, were completely numb. Finally, the door opened, and Shiranui Genma himself came into view, his lips quirking around his senbon into a flirtatious smile as he recognized her. Grabbing her hand lightly, he pulled her in, and tugged at her jacket. "May I?"

Sakura smiled back gamely and shrugged it off. She looked around the hallway, which had archways on either side leading into separate rooms. The warmth of the place permeated her senses and she breathed it in deeply. It was the smell of alcohol mixed with sweat. Ahh, lovely.

She turned back towards Genma to find him eyeing her up and down her now exposed outfit. A slight pink hue tainted her cheeks at the way he stepped back and wolf-whistled appreciatively. She laughingly placed a quick kiss hello on his cheek.

"Happy birthday Genma! I hope you're having a good one," she said warmly.

He grinned back mischievously. "I am now that you're here, sweetheart."

She laughed and took his advances in stride, curtsying daintily in response. "Glad to be of service. You're looking good, Genma."

His senbon bounced as he chuckled engagingly. "Speak for yourself, blossom, you look damn fine."

She laughed again and did a little twirl. "Ya think so?" she asked flirtatiously.

"Hell yeah. Throw the birthday boy a bone, wouldya?" He winked and Sakura could instantly see the appeal Shiranui held for a lot of the slightly older kunoichi. Genma was one hell of a sexy guy, with his casual attitude and playboy ways, but at the same time, he didn't have a single bad bone in his body. They were really only playing around though, because absolutely _everyone _knew that Genma was a true womanizer and flirted as easily as he breathed. He apparently had natural talent with his tongue too, and it was a highly publicized rumour that he could make _any woman _melt into a pool of goo at his feet with a single kiss.

But Sakura was also privy to a secret that was seemingly as highly protected as national treasure. Her mentor's other apprentice and Sakura's sister-figure, Shizune, had had a secret crush on the playboy for years, but had never allowed herself to get close for fear of getting burnt. Sakura could see the looks Shizune sent Genma's way whenever she thought no one was looking though, and she was determined to nudge her along in the right direction. He seemed pretty partial towards her too. Sakura realized that tonight might just be the perfect time to set things in motion, so she decided she would fish for information first.

"Oooh, didn't think I was your type actually."

Genma smirked. "All beautiful, intelligent kunoichi are my type, hon, but I must say, you're the only one I know with pink hair."

He flicked one of the tendrils that had escaped her elegant chignon, held up with a chopstick emblazoned with diamantes. (Sakura stopped to think. She'd have to be ultra careful with the way she worded things, otherwise, the quick-witted shinobi in front of her would catch on immediately. )

Smiling evilly to herself, she started scheming.

"I've heard word that you have a thing for brunettes."

Genma grinned, but didn't take the route she expected him to.

"True, that. I'm a goner for the dark-haired and leggy ones. But I'll make an exception for you." He leaned in and tilted her head upwards. She smacked his hand away playfully and sighed dramatically.

"Oh, I'm _so_ flattered that his majesty would deign to look at me, but it's a real shame that it seems I've already given my heart away."

He mock-pouted. "Ahh, and the man is shut dowwwnnn. I know a brush off when I see one." He smiled genially and Sakura couldn't help but be caught up in his enthusiasm. She punched him lightly on the arm and laughed.

"It's okay, I know when to back off, blossom, but I'm afraid you'll have to make it up to me."

"Hmm, and how may I go about doing that?" Genma made a lecherous face. "And no sexual favours, might I add."

"Aww, Sakura-chan, what do you take me for? All I wanted was-"

He cut himself off and looked around, checking to see if anybody was in hearing distance. Then, he lowered his voice conspiratorially, whispering in her ear.

"Well…er…could you just tell me…I was wondering if…if that Shizune chick is attached?"

Sakura's eyes widened and she tried unsuccessfully to repress her mirth at the sudden turn of situation. He slapped a hand over her mouth until her laughter died down.

"Heyy, it's not that funny! I swear, she hates me, she knocks me back every single time I try to make a move on her, but there's just something about her…" he sighed mournfully.

"Sakura-chan, please tell me I haven't somehow lost my charm. You can't resist this hot piece of ass, can you?"

"Haha, unfortunately, I can, but I can still help you…"

She grabbed his sleeve and proceeded to drag the senbon-chewing shinobi around in search of the medic-nin (while she took the opportunity to look around admiringly at the household furnishings. Damn, the place was huge and the decorations simple yet warm. She hadn't been aware that special jounins made so much money.) Finally, they came to a stop in one of the dancing areas, where Shizune, Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Gai, Anko, Kotetsu, Izumo and a couple others were sitting at a table pushed to the side of the room. She said hello to everyone, making sure to poke her former sensei in the back of his gravity-defying hair before pushing Genma down at the table. Then, she made a beeline for Shizune, who had thankfully left Tonton at home. She grabbed her and forcibly led/pushed her away to a quieter area of the room. Genma and Kakashi were left bewildered at the table, and Genma made a face as he watched the two girls' retreating backs.

"Damn, has she always been that scary?" he asked the Sharingan-wielder, nodding in Sakura's direction.

Kakashi replied in the affirmative.

"Yup. Now you know what it's like. She used to threaten to burn my Icha Icha Paradise collection whenever she caught me reading one, and this was when she was fifteen." Kakashi's lone eye crinkled happily as he fondly remembered the days when he could do a thousand three-fingered push-ups with her sitting on his back, or hold her back with a single hand as she went on one of her rampages. Ah, he really was getting old.

-------

Meanwhile, Sakura was explaining Operation-Snatch-Genma to Shizune, who was blinking back at her rather dazedly.

"So you mean…I should go up to him, slap him, and then snog him silly?"

"Exactly!" Sakura snapped her fingers to exaggerate her point. Damn, she was good at this.

"But…why?"

"Coz he likes you, that's why, and it's the best way to show him you're interested."

"No, I mean, why the slapping part?"

Sakura sighed, and slowly explained herself again. Shizune was just so naive when it came to this type of thing.

"Oh, you know playboy guys like him. The only way to show him how you're different to all the other ladies he's pawed at is to show him who's boss. I have a feeling that he's a closet sadomasochist, so trust me, this is the best way to go about things."

Shizune gasped at Sakura's bluntness. "Oh, but I don't know if I could…"

"Shizune-san, look at me. Your stong, and he's in love with you. Do what you feel is right."

At this, Shizune straightened up, tilting her chin proudly.

"Yes," she said, "yes, I'll do it!"

"That's the spirit!" Sakura cheered.

And thus, she completed her self-appointed mission, and watched proudly from the sidelines as Shizune marched her way confidently back over to the table and to Genma, her sexy strut drawing eyes like magnets. She almost laughed at the expression on Genma's face as Shizune stopped right in front of him, posing and bringing her hand back to slap him right across the face, before draping herself across his lap with her arms around his neck and kissing him slowly, thoroughly, and sensually, as the others cheered and whooped wildly on all around them.

Sakura wiped a tear away from the corner of her eye at the happy sight, giving the couple a standing ovation. Many others followed suit across the crowded room. "You've done me proud, son," she sniffled.

She laughed as Genma managed to gasp to Kakashi during the bouts of kissing, "Whatever your student did, she's a genius, I tell you!" and smiled as Genma pumped a fist victoriously into the air, yelling, "Thank you, Sakura-chan!"

It had been a job well-done, indeed.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the other end of the party… 

Sasuke was pissed.

He had no idea how he'd ended up sitting with the dobe and _his girlfriend _at the house of a jounin he hardly knew. They were seated at a bunch of tables pushed together, the lighting was seedy and hurt his eyes and the alcohol was too weak and tasteless to be of any use.

The rest of the Rookie 9, as they still fondly referred to themselves, were busy wreaking havoc all around him.

Neji had escorted Hinata to the party and was sitting on her other side, looking about as bored as Sasuke felt, while Lee and Tenten were directly opposite him.

They had recently gotten together and were currently engaged in a full-on lip lock, much to the Uchiha's disgust. It was so…_weird_ seeing Fuzzy Eyebrows get some, especially as he was _right in front of him._ Apparently, Tenten wouldn't let Lee get his hands on any of the alcohol for obvious reasons, so Lee had adjusted to this by demanding that they make out. Tenten had never really been sober anyway, so she complied easily enough.

Kiba had set himself the task of getting them boozed up, and he'd made his way across the room to the bar awhile ago, to get drinks, and never made it back. He was most likely picking up random girls since the love of his life (Hinata), had pierced his heart and severely wounded his pride by finally going out with Naruto. He probably couldn't stand seeing them together, something that the Uchiha could secretly relate with, to his horror.

And Sai was off who-knows-where.

Sasuke took the chance to glare at the Hyuuga heiress while Naruto was looking the other way. She was intimidated by him, he could tell, and it brought him some form of sadistic pleasure to punish her for something she couldn't understand.

Shikamaru and Ino sat on Sasuke's other side, and he felt sorry for the lazy genius for being held up by Ino's relentless chattering. She kept going on and on about how she and Sakura had gone shopping that day, how much of a hottie Sakura was now thanks to her, and how _oops, _she might've maxed out another of Shikamaru's credit cards, but lucky he earnt so much from being the Hokage's main tactical advisor, ne?

Sasuke decided to tune her out, and not a moment too soon, because then, in his peripheral vision, he could see that she'd started tonguing Shikamaru's ear to _repay him_ for some other night's activities.

Sickened, he turned away, wanting the whole night just to be over already. It was _nauseating_ having to sit by as Naruto constantly pawed at the Hyuuga heiress and murmured sweet nothings in her ear.

Sasuke suddenly realized that he and Neji were the only two people at the table who weren't occupied with the fairer sex. He made the mistake of letting his eyes absently wander over to meet the Hyuuga's, who looked back at him challengingly, almost _accusingly._

Sasuke glared back defiantly, almost hoping that the Hyuuga would just start a fight, so he'd have an excuse to _do something._ He was _itching _to get out of this fucking hellhole.

He could feel his irritation building up, burning hot against the back of his eyelids, as he felt, rather than saw, the dobe turning his back on him as he leant in to kiss Hinata's forehead, muttering something so softly that Sasuke couldn't quite catch it. _The idiot was like a different person with Hinata, someone the Uchiha did not know quite as well as he thought he did._

Then, as Naruto pulled away, Sasuke was silent until, for what felt like the thousandth time that night, he felt Naruto elbow him accidentally in the side.

It was seriously the _last fucking straw._

_I don't need this shit._

He attempted to get up, but suddenly, Naruto's concerned blue eyes were upon him, his hands on the Uchiha's shoulders, warm fingers shocking him slightly and leaving a trail of heat through his thin shirt. Sasuke felt like he was drowning, getting pulled under by someone he _thought_ he could trust.

"Sasuke…what's wrong with you lately?"

His hands were heavy, reassuring. Sasuke continued to ignore him, resentment tightening in his chest. He suddenly thought about how he used to vie for Itachi's attention, and unexpectedly became angry. He shoved Naruto's confining arms from around him and spat out a venomous response.

"It doesn't concern you. Go back to your bitch, she needs your attention more than I do."

_Yes. What was wrong with him?_

The situation had all the makings of a huge fight about to brew, so he was confused when Naruto decided to let it drop, and ran a hand through his hair, calming himself down.

"Look, Sasuke, I don't know what's wrong with you lately but I don't wanna fight. Truce?" He smiled, and held out a hand.

_Naruto had inexplicably become more mature. Was it because of Hinata?_

A pregnant pause ensued, and the tension between them was palpable.

_No. Fuck this._

He'd had _enough._ He couldn't take it anymore.

Sasuke got up, pushed past the dobe, ignored the questioning glances from the rest of the group and subsequently the hard gaze that bored a hole into the back of his head.

"I've gotta go," he said.

* * *

Sakura made her way over to Shino, who she could faintly see the outline of, in the shadowy recesses of the corner of the room. He really did blend in, and with his dark shades and still frame, Sakura knew she would've passed him without a second thought if she hadn't been on the lookout for people she knew. She found the Aburame calming to talk to, and it was if she had all the time in the world when they were engaged in conversation. He was just that good a listener. 

"Hey there Shino-san. How come you're standing here all on your lonesome?"

His voice sounded like it was gruff from inactive use when he replied.

"My bugs are scared by the vibrations of the room so I found a place where it was less crowded."

"Oh," Sakura said. She wasn't the least put off by his short reply though, she knew it was just his rather stoic and wary personality that kept him from relaxing in social situations. She launched into a series of questions regarding medicinal herbs. For some reason, Shino knew a LOT about gardening. He had a real green thumb, and Sakura supposed it made sense that he'd be so in tune with nature considering his family's unique traits.

Soon though, Sakura caught sight of Chouji, whom she'd been meaning to ask for a favour…

"Chouji! Wait up!"

He turned and smiled as she skidded to a stop in front of him.

"Hey Sakura, what's the rush?"

"I was meaning to ask if you could teach me how to cook…" and so Sakura relayed her case and begged Chouji to lend her some of the famous Akimichi cooking recipes…especially the one for their super-duper-ultra-chocolatey cake topped with cinnamon. After she secured his promise that he would hand over some of the recipes and personally tutor her food-preparation skills in the next week, Sakura left with a huge smile on her face.

'Better go see what Sasuke and Naruto are up to,' she thought to herself, and continued on her way, smiling at people she recognized from various stages in her life.

* * *

Sasuke headed towards the exit, ignoring the girls in clusters, peeking his way and giggling. One of the bolder ones intercepted him as he neared. She was one of the many who had been eyeing him all evening and looked less respectable than most. She looked him up and down from head to toe for the thousandth time that night and he was repulsed by the lascivious gleam that appeared in her eyes. 

"Hey there handsome," she said throatily as he neared.

He walked right past her, trademark scowl adorning his features, wordlessly telling her to leave him alone, he wasn't in the mood to deal with lustful fangirls. But she still had the gall to tag along right behind him

He stopped, turned back to face her.

_I don't need you Naruto, I never needed you._

His lips hardened unconsciously into a grim line and his eyes were slightly unsure but he steeled his resolve anyway.

_What better way than to prove it?_

He opened his mouth to say something, but it wasn't his normal voice that spoke out loud. It was lower, smoother, and infinitely more dangerous, almost _sensual_ in the way his tongue glided over his teeth.

"Hey, babe." He forced himself to drag his eyes slowly, overtly, up her figure, and hid his disgust as she licked her lips.

It was all the encouragement she needed before she launched herself at him, arms in a strangle hold against his neck.

He descended on her lips, kissing her harshly. She gave in instantly, _like he knew she would_, reciprocating frantically as if she knew she'd never get another chance.

Behind them, Naruto looked away.

* * *

Sakura's senses were tingling in warning. 

She couldn't fully explain it, but there was a sinking feeling in her stomach as she turned around the corner of the house, on the lookout for her friends.

She pressed a hand over her heart, wondering why there was such a leaden feeling, wondering if she should turn back.

'I'm being stupid,' she told herself, 'there's nothing to be afraid of, there's noth-'

Right at that moment, Sakura walked into Neji, who had just come out of the doorway that she was about to enter.

Unbeknownst to her, he had come to prevent her from seeing…something he _knew _she would rather not.

Sakura looked up to meet Neji's silver eyes, and swallowed back the lump in her throat when she realized that he had his Byakugan activated.

"Neji. What is it?" she croaked. "Tell me."

He looked down at her, the puffy veins disappearing. He put a large, calloused hand on her shoulder. It was inordinately warm. His voice was quiet when he replied.

"We should leave." Her collar bone tingled where his thumb brushed it. She slowly shook her head.

"If there's something I should know…" _then so be it._ His eyes were tender as he watched her calmly make her way past the doorway, only to stop dead, her hand flying to her mouth to cover her sharp intake of breath. Neji followed, but the image of what she'd just seen had already been burned into his mind.

There, the object of Sakura's life long affections stood, his hands entwined through a brunette girl's hair as he made out with her roughly, almost mauling her on the spot. Neji faintly remembered the girl from some exam or other. Sakura watched, almost entranced, as Sasuke, uncaring of all the attention he was drawing, slid an arm around the girl's mid-section, hand slowly traveling up the back of her shirt.

She snapped out of it a second later though, when she witnessed the girl's hands, in return, going down Sasuke's …

_Crap._

Wrenching her eyes away, Sakura almost tripped as she fell back against Neji's broad chest. He placed an arm around her to keep her steady and she gazed up at him pleadingly. Understanding what she needed, he grabbed her hand and led her away.

* * *

Sasuke pushed the girl up against the wall, ignoring the dirty glances from the people around them. 

"...Come home with me tonight," he whispered in her ear, his lip curling up in derision.

He made sure Naruto could hear, although he convinced himself he didn't care anymore.

She smiled, sickeningly sweet, and wrapped an arm around his waist in response. He resisted the urge to push it off.

She upturned her face, pulling on his shirt a little, and he obliged her request by meeting her half way.

"I would love to," she replied, breath hot and sticky against his neck. She grabbed his chin none-too-gently and proceeded to flick her tongue against the shell of his ear, leaving a wet trail of saliva and promises to come.

Sasuke let his eyes flicker shut, but not before seeing Naruto half-rise from his position on the couch, in his peripheral vision.

He smiled grimly and waited.

The first punch came half a second later.

-------

He could **easily **havedodged had he wanted to_…_ but Sasuke had never been the type to back down first.

He swayed from the strength of the blow which had landed square to his jaw, and it was only his determination to get _some sort of reaction_ from Naruto that kept him on his feet. His eyes slitting dangerously, he spat the swirling of blood from his tongue onto the ground. He was slightly disoriented, yet he still managed to smirk spitefully, wiping and smearing the crimson droplets away from the corner of his mouth, his head tilted proudly.

He slowly raised his eyes, fully expecting to see messy blonde hair and enraged azure eyes.

Sasuke growled, "What the hell do you want, Naru-"before he was forced to cut himself off.

_It wasn't the dobe..._

Instead, it was a _mere__**fucking** jounin-_in-training, a muscle-bound meathead who went by the name Zieko, who had dared to get in Uchiha Sasuke's, the Avenger's, face.

An all-encompassing, sinking feeling of disappointment momentarily clouded his vision.

_What the hell had he been **thinking? **Why the fuck would Naruto care if he allowed some slut to grace his sheets, his bed? Screw that, he could get off with every single bitch in Konoha and the dobe probably wouldn't bat a single eyelash, he'd still be entirely oblivious, so painfully oblivious…_

Sasuke was rudely awakened when Zieko, the bastard, grabbed the front of his shirt, bunching it up in his meaty hands. Sasuke had to restrain himself from breaking the asshole's neck in half, he was already pissed enough as it was, he didn't need this shit right now.

"What the fuck d'ya think you were doin' with my 'ho, you son-of-a-bitch?" a gruff, rasping voice escaped the meathead's throat, further provoking him.

_Naruto was the **only one** who could affect him like this, but the dobe had no clue, heck, he probably didn't even care._

He tried not to laugh as he shoved the jounin away. The idiot was asking for it, but Sasuke could see the blonde in his line of sight, beyond Zieko's shoulder. He'd made a fool of himself as it was, and it didn't help that the girl he'd kissed was scrambling pathetically between him and the meathead, begging for them to stop. Sasuke realized cynically that she was probably thrilled to be getting so much attention; he could just hear it now. _"Uchiha Sasuke-kun was fighting over **me **with my ex at Genma's party. He wanted to spend some 'quality time' with me, but Zieko stepped in just as we were getting to the good part…"_

"Get out of here before I make you," he replied evenly. He thought about turning on the Sharingan just to scare the bastard off, but knew it'd be a waste of chakra and the thug wasn't worthy of even a glimpse of his family bloodline. (He didn't even know how someone like that could even make _Chuunin_, let alone be good enough to attempt the jounin exam.) He settled for narrowing his eyes and brushing non-existent dirt off his shoulder where the meathead and touched him, to get the point across.

The asshole didn't heed the warning, and came charging at the Uchiha instead. "'Sif you could, you arrogant piece of shi-"

Sasuke calmly sidestepped and Zieko's eyes widened when he found himself pinned to the wall with a barrage of kunai and an assortment of shuriken within point-five of a second, the deadly aim precise enough to just graze his skin in twenty-seven different places.

"Holy crap," he breathed shallowly. He hadn't even seen the Uchiha's hands move.

* * *

Sasuke turned away and headed off towards the door just in time to see Naruto walking towards him from across the room, Hinata by his side. While he watched, the blonde intertwined his fingers with the Hyuuga heiress and leaned down to whisper somethin_g_ in her ear. 

She blushed prettily and looked up at Naruto with wide eyes, and the Uchiha could _see_ the words that were forming on her glistening lips as she stuttered appealingly.

"B-but Naruto-kun, are you s-sure?"

Everything suddenly came into sharp focus as the Sharingan activated against Sasuke's will. It was an unconscious reaction to the emotional turmoil he was feeling inside. Through his eyes, the room was painted myriad shades of red, the movements of others along with vibrations magnified ten-fold, broken down and seemingly slowed to the point of obscurity.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Sasuke paused, looked up as Naruto neared him, opened his mouth to say something, anything, _he didn't know what. _He was just in time to see the affectionate expression that was displayed across Naruto's face whenever he was with Hinata, **completely disappear **as he flicked an indifferent, unfeeling gaze at _him._

Then, they were side-by-side, and the moment felt like it was frozen in time, a frame capturing the both of them as they were shoulder-to-shoulder, yet facing in opposite directions, splitting at a fork in the road.

Naruto had _brushed past his shoulder without a single word._

Stunned, Sasuke faltered and involuntarily came to a stop.

The noise level in the room dropped to zero and all that Sasuke could hear was the pounding of his heart, and the aloof footsteps of his best friend, fading as they led further and further away from him.

_His eyes had been colder and more distant than he'd ever remembered seeing them._

"C'mon, Hinata, I'll walk you home," the gentle cadences of Naruto's inexplicably warm voice, rose and fell softly, _agonizingly, _at entire odds with the cold way he'd looked at Sasuke.

Sasuke turned back just in time to catch a glimpse of Naruto putting an arm protectively around the Hyuuga heiress' shoulders before they headed off, the slight drizzle of rain softening the edges of his jagged heart.

A chill coursed through the room, and Sasuke felt it move over him, within him, before he dragged his eyes away from the exit where he'd watched as Naruto walked out of his life.

He went back inside. If he'd _ever_ had a time when he needed alcohol to drown his sorrows in most, it was then.

Sasuke stumbled blindly back into the oppressive warmth of the room. He blinked once, twice, as the girl who'd served as the bait before, to taunt Naruto, _yes, he could admit it now,_ suddenly grasped one of his hands with one of hers. Huh. He'd forgotten about her. She looked up at him, acting coy, trailing the fingers of her other hand down his chest, tracing the grooves of his stomach through his shirt. Her voice fuzzed in and out like the transmission of a faulty radio.

"I've dealt with…already…I can't believe…punched you. We can go now if you like…I'll show you a good time."

He looked down at her, breathing heavily. This time, he did not hesitate to shove her away, "Keep the fuck away from me, you _slut-" _ignoring the gasps of the people around him as she hit the wall hard, tears of mortification springing to her eyes.

She gasped, "What the hell, you bastard! _You _came on to _me! I felt sorry for you!" _

He ignored her, walked away, black motes staining his vision, making him dizzy, _so dizzy._

"I fucking hate you, Uchiha Sasuke!" she screamed at him.

He wiped her remaining lipstick imprints off his face, chuckled mirthlessly under his breath. "Join the club."

* * *

Neji watched as Sakura downed shot after shot of some strong-smelling alcohol. He grabbed her hand as she lifted it again to signal to the bartender for another round. 

"You've had enough," he said, his voice solid. He couldn't say he knew what she was going through - love was a strange thing – but he knew she'd have a massive hangover the next morning if she continued at this rate, which wouldn't help her mood any. He kept his hand on hers as she tried to push him away, drunkenly calling for another drink.

"Stop it, Sakura," he said, quietly. She did not cry, but as it was, Neji would've been gladder if she had. Then he'd have an indication as to how she was feeling, and what to do with her. Now though, she just avoided his gaze, and her wobbly voice as she demanded him to let her go tugged at his heartstrings.

For awhile, she mumbled to herself in the way that drunk people did, and Neji was silent as he watched her heart break slowly before his eyes.

"I don't understand," she kept whispering, over and over, eyes slowly closing as she rested her forehead against the countertop. "Was I never good enough for him? Did all those years mean nothing? Has he ever…has he _ever...would _her ever…I- I d-don't…"

He placed his fingers against her temple, massaged lightly. "Sakura, stop."

At the sound of his voice, she turned towards him slowly, her eyes unfocused and slightly moist. "Neji…" she breathed, and he wasn't sure what how to respond when she placed both hands on his shoulders, bringing him closer so she could examine him properly. She gazed at him, locking one arm around his neck while she brought her other hand up to lightly trace his jawline. He did not push her away, but instead kept his hands steady at her waist.

She studied him for awhile, and Neji almost felt like for once, it was she who was reading him like an open book, and not the other way around.

"Neji…" she whispered. "Neji…"

"You're drunk," he said, stating the obvious.

Really, she was intoxicated off her ass. He sighed, grabbing her hands from around his neck and placing them in her lap. She whimpered, gaze sliding down, then up again, and her eyes suddenly brightened with clarity. She leaned closer, and Neji could see what she wanted.

_She's drunk, _he had to tell himself again. _Push her away._

She moved in for a kiss, eyes slipping shut, hands tightening on the material of his shirt.

_You're so beautiful._ Her skin was flushed and she was breathing hard. He could almost taste her on his lips, _she was so close_. But too easily, he saw what this could lead to…

_She's drunk_, he reminded himself. This isn't right; this isn't how it should be…

He turned away.

"Let's get you home."

* * *

Later, Neji would wonder how in the hell he had managed ending up having to take _the Uchiha_ home, instead of Sakura. It was really beyond him. Damn Sai. 

The aforementioned ninja had suddenly appeared with a passed out Sasuke leaning against him as Neji had been about to leave with Sakura's small form draped within his arms. He'd demanded that Neji unhand Sakura, because he 'couldn't trust the Hyuuga not to take advantage of the pink-haired kunoichi while she was out of it,' to which Neji snorted at. But the dark-haired shinobi had insisted, and Neji had reluctantly obliged after witnessing the knowing looks that more than half the ANBU were giving him and the girl in his arms.

He trudged along, with the Uchiha on his back and they were near the Uchiha district when Sasuke started thrashing about. Neji subdued him easily, but was troubled by the way the Uchiha was acting. He decided to hit some of the Uchiha's pressure points to see if it would help him calm any, and was gratified to see the Uchiha slump again, his breathing relaxed and his arms now hanging loosely about the Hyuuga's shoulders.

He kept walking, and thought about how Sakura must be doing…he was not good at comforting people, he'd never associated himself with others unnecessarily before meeting her, but now…

He sighed.

It was then that he heard Sasuke start mumbling something, under his breath. He didn't really pay attention to what the Uchiha was actually _saying _until he felt a strange sensation against his neck, as if…as if the Uchiha was _pressing his lips against him._

_What the fuck?_

Sprinting the rest of the way to the Uchiha manor and avoiding about ten million shuriken traps in the place as he broke through a window, he then dumped Sasuke on a nearby couch, staring disbelievingly at the Uchiha as his chest rose and fell evenly.

He turned to walk away, trying to shake the sudden connection that his mind had made with his subconscious. Those looks that the Uchiha kept sending him…the way he acted whenever Neji was around Hinata…it _didn't make sense, _how the hell could it all be connected?

"You have no idea…how you make me feel."

He froze as the Uchiha spoke behind him, still lying on the couch. The darkness of the room encroached on them, and Neji was suddenly glad that it was really too dark to see anything.

"When you're with her, it makes me…it makes me want to katon everything in sight."

Hell no. Did this mean…no, the Uchiha _couldn't be in love with him! _Sakura would kill them both!

Neji decided to leave the premises before he would be forced to hear anymore. Crap, crap, CRAP! _What the hell is this world coming to?_

He quickly jumped out of the window he broke in through, uncaring of the sleeve he tore on the broken window shard, and was well on his way home before Sasuke could finish his drunken rambling.

…So he didn't hear the last words that fell softly from Sasuke's lips, unheeded, into the dead of the night.

"Don't leave me…_Naruto."_

_

* * *

_

A/N: And so it ends. Holy crap that was a monster of a chap_. -breathes deeply-_ I hope you got the last part, it's pretty important to the plot, see. And I sure hope you could bear to sit through all that, but I can assure you, I'll never do such a long chap again! NEVER! Thanks for getting this far! XD. Next time, even more confusion! Oh, wait, -insert shameless plug here- Well...the Cashew Nuts and I just started a C2 together called .:NejiSaku : Destined to Be:. and it's entirely dedicated to quality fics of just that couple! Check it out if you have some time on your hands, kay? I assure you, it's good for the NejiSaku lovers' soul :P. Please clicky on the C2 link of my profile and if you'd like to join or anything, let either of us know and we'll hook you up! XD Thanks for your time!


	6. Awakening

**Without a Doubt** by lilmisssushi

A/N: So…it's been awhile. _–attempts to dodge tomatoes-_

I'm really sorry about how long this took. Really, I am. I hope this extra long chapter makes up for the absence somewhat. No excuses, though.

As always, thank you for the lovely reviews! They've been an absolute pleasure XD.

**Summary: **For Sakura, being in love with Sasuke is a given. She's loved him through rejection and betrayal and everything in between, so why should she stop now?

For Neji, blaming everything on fate is the most tried-and-true method around. But throw in Haruno Sakura, and his extremely versatile excuse just doesn't seem to cut it anymore. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. (NejiSaku)(SasuNaru)

**Disclaimer:** Nope still don't own.

**Recap from last chapter – **Sakura walks in on Sasuke making out with a random girl and stumbles back out, broken-hearted, with Neji accompanying her.

Sasuke is also pretty stuffed-up because of his jealousy concerning Naruto and Hinata's relationship, and tries to prove he doesn't need Naruto, with lousy results.

Sakura and Sasuke both drink themselves under the table, and havoc ensues when Neji is forced to take Sasuke home and mistakes his drunken ramblings for a confession of love.

Please enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter VI – Awakening **_

* * *

****

Sakura blearily cracked an eye open the next morning at some ungodly hour to find sunshine glaring directly in her face. Jack-hammering upright in search of her alarm clock, she paid the severe price for her sudden movement when a wave of intense nausea passed momentarily over her system. She clapped a hand over her mouth, staggered out of her bed, tripped on the clothes scattered about her floor and only just made it to her ensuite bathroom in time to throw herself across the toilet, dry-retching.

She was still at it a couple of minutes later when a glass of water and some medicinal pills miraculously appeared, dangling before her eyes. She grasped at it and downed it all in a single gulp. Blinking groggily, she swiped a hand across her eyes in hopes of clearing her vision.

"Sai?" she asked tiredly, when her brain finally clicked into place and determined the identity of the shadowy figure hovering above her. "What are you doing in my house?"

He crouched down beside her, where she had made herself comfortable on the cold tiles.

"Short-term memory lapse much, ugly? If it weren't for me, you'd be passed out right now in some shady alleyway or other. Or worse, Hyuuga would have had his twisted way with you and you'd have woken up none-the-wiser. Come to think of it, he always _did_ have bad taste."

Clutching at her pounding head, she moaned at the sound of his loud, abrasive voice. "Not so loud, please. Tell me again, what exactly happened last night and why are you still here?"

He sighed, stood up and turned around so his back was facing her. Then, cryptically, he muttered; "Maybe you should count it as a blessing that you can't remember much."

"Huh?"

"I said, you got your ass so thoroughly drunk that I was forced to carry your staggering weight on my back all the way home." He paused and pointed gratuitously at his shoulder, "and you drooled on my favourite shirt."

Too tired to come up with a witty response, Sakura let his slight on her character go with a single scathing look and slowly got to her feet, stretching. The pills were finally starting to kick in and her own healing predisposition would do the rest of the work.

For the first time that morning, she chanced a glance downwards – only to find herself inexplicably donned in only her fuzzy white robe with a lacy singlet and pink silk boxer shorts.

…She did not remember changing out of her clothes.

(In fact, as her imbecile of a teammate had pointed out earlier, she did not remember much of anything at all.)

Slowly raising her head at the realization (he had changed her clothes! How dare he? The bastard!) to glare daggers at her teammate, she watched with a barely concealed rage as she stared him down. But before she could open her mouth and start screaming obscenities at him ('pervert' and 'creep' instantly came to mind), he had held up his hands in mock defense and chuckled.

"Take it like a man, ugly, there wasn't much to see. You had vomit all over you. And no, I did not take advantage of you, if that's what you were hoping."

She paused, fuming. "If I didn't already know you were as asexual as they come, I would've decapitated you in fifteen different ways by now."

"And here I thought you'd be grateful."

"Whatever Sai. I owe you one, happy?"

"You owe me a lot more than _that_. I demand payment for services rendered."

"What. Do. You. Want?"

A pause.

"You have to do all my mission reports for a month."

"A week," she haggled half-heartedly.

"Two."

"Done and done. Go away now, I need more sleep."

"Gladly."

Sakura gave him a helpful shove out of the window on his way out and she couldn't help but smile slightly when he yelped, jumped onto the roof of the nearest building and turned around to make a rude finger gesture back at her.

He really was an idiot, but she couldn't even imagine life without his retarded personality and back-handed compliments to keep her on her toes anymore.

* * *

After she finally got rid of Sai, Sakura hadn't taken a further two steps towards the bed again before sensing another person's presence on her porch. A second later, the doorbell trilled and confirmed her suspicions.

Stumbling across the kitchen, still slightly disoriented, she muttered a curse as she stubbed her big toe on a slight fissure between the tiles. Aware that she probably looked like crap 'cause she hadn't had a chance to smarten up in the bathroom yet, she yawned and pulled her fingers lightly through her hair, hoping to untangle some of the unruly knots.

She opened the door to find the Hyuuga standing stoically at her doorstep, with his back facing her and his clothes whispering in the slight breeze. Somewhat surprised to see him, she called out uncertainly;

"So…what brings you here, Neji?"

For all the years they had known each other, he had never once called upon her at home. That was just the way it had always been, and there was just something so personal about having him standing _right there,_ as if it was perfectly normal for him to be visiting her on the weekend, and so early in the day.

Slowly, he turned around to face her and there was a flicker of uncertainty in his lavender-tinted eyes as they caught hers and held. There was a tentativeness in his posture as he stepped forward to meet her, which struck Sakura as odd for the Hyuuga's attitude was usually the furtherest away from any such emotion. Running her eyes over him in a quick perfunctory check-up, she thought she saw the tiniest hint of a cut on his forearm, though he appeared to be otherwise unharmed.

Absently, Sakura reached out to touch the arm which held the cut and he solemnly watched as she traced her finger along its length and it closed up in a matter of seconds under the greenish glow of her chakra. His gaze was unassuming as it rested on her, taking note of the slight bags under her eyes.

"Did you…sleep well?"

Neji wasn't one to be so vague, and they hardly ever exchanged such meaningless pleasantries either. She sensed that there was much more meaning underlying the simple question. Something was up, and she felt as if her answer mattered greatly to him. There was an expectant look in his eyes, and for some reason, they made her slightly uneasy, like there was something she was missing…

"I-"

And suddenly she was immersed back into the suffocating atmosphere that was Genma's party, and it was hot; unbearably so.

Again, she was turning that corner with Neji's warning lingering in her ears, and again, she felt the despair that encompassed her as she unknowingly walked in on Sasuke's tête-à-tête with that _girl. _

Her blood-red stilettos, her crumpled shirt and saccharine smile, Sasuke's wandering hands and closed eyes, all these little details served to make her feel weak, and sickened to her very bones. It was like she was seeing it all again for the very first time.

The unpleasant memories burned their way down her throat and curled to settle uncomfortably somewhere in her stomach, and by the end of it, she felt as battered and bruised as she had ever been after a particularly horrible mission.

Slumping bonelessly against the doorframe, she felt the weariness set in. She could feel the slight prickle of tears behind her eyelids, and alarmed, she kept her eyes closed until they went away. The shock soon left them dry.

She didn't think she could ever forgive herself for the weakness if she fell apart in front of Neji; she wouldn't, because she'd promised herself that she would try to be strong in the face of all adversity and _this was her chance to prove her words, _wasn't it?

It wasn't until she felt a warm hand place itself under her elbow and a strong body steer hers back into her house and towards the kitchen to settle her on a stool that she realized that Neji was still there. _He was still there._

To his credit, it was done without affectation and Sakura was grateful for the wordless support.

"Drink."

He placed a mug of some warm beverage or other in her hands and she sipped at it obediently, all the while faintly wondering how the Hyuuga managed to maneuver himself about her kitchen so efficiently. Then, she berated herself for such a worthless observation and to her horror, she could feel a hysterical chuckle bubbling up in her throat. Clamping a hand over her mouth, she risked a quick glance over at Neji to see if he'd noticed her slip. He had.

Saying nothing, he regarded her calmly before gently picking up her wrists and started chafing them. She watched in slight amazement as his long fingers and skilled hands warmed her, made her eyes slowly droop.

"Neji, I…-"

"Don't."

Quieting, she waited for a sign from him, but all of a sudden she felt sleepy and she tried to fight the wave of tiredness washing over her but it was too hard, it was impossible and somehow she was slipping into bed with the aid of another and her sheets were soothing as they enveloped her and everything was fuzzing out and the last thing she remembered were the fingers resting lightly at her temple, warm and supple and tender.

---------

When she awoke again, a slow regaining of the senses, it was dark and Sakura realized belatedly that she'd slept the whole day away.

Neji had left.

She should have expected it but somehow, Sakura was still a little disappointed. She resolved to thank him for his help the next time she saw him, and with any luck, it would be soon.

Trying not to think too much about _Sasuke_ – the brooding dark-haired boy who had stolen her heart from such an early age - Sakura sighed and delved further into the warmth of her blankets. She resolved to figure out where exactly everything stood, in the light of a new day.

As she made her decision, she felt fatigue wash over her and she allowed it to carry her away.

…But just as she was about to drift into sleep, memories from the previous night again invaded her senses.

Unbidden, a close-up image of Neji procured itself in her mind's eye. Inexplicably, she felt herself leaning towards him, her eyes slipping shut and his warm breath puffing across her whetted lips…almost as if…as if--

Wrenching herself out of the memory, Sakura shook her head, startled. She could feel her heart pounding all over again.

Dimly, Sakura realized, that last night, she had been about to kiss him.

* * *

Over the next week, Sakura spent what felt like every waking moment in the Hyuuga's company, and she had no idea how it came to pass.

It was like he was quietly guiding her, a hand on her back, offering his support, and she was left feeling a little puzzled by the fact that he cared so much.

(They spent so much time together, in fact, that she imagined that she could still see him when she closed her eyes at night, long after he'd left. She could hear the rustle of his robes a mile away, and she could recall the musky, slightly sweet smell that she had come to recognize as Neji's natural masculine scent. She could hear his deep, silky-timbred voice speak in her ear at the oddest moments of the day. In short, she was amazed by the fact that neither of them had tried to kill each other from sensory overload yet.)

Sakura wondered at her distinct lack of further heartbreak over the predicament with Sasuke. After the first initial shock the day after she'd witnessed the Incident, she felt oddly calm. Maybe, since she had faithfully kept up the pretense of not being affected for the whole week, it had somehow become the truth. Maybe she had been too distracted by the combination of work, Tsunade-sama's stern concern, Ino's relentless chattering and pep talks, Sai's sparring and Neji's constant, soothing presence to have noticed the time pass her by.

Or maybe, it was the calm before the storm. Whichever way it was, Sakura wanted to make the most of things before the proverbial shit hit the fan.

A rather conspicuous detail that was apparently missing in all of this as of late was Naruto's presence – or lack thereof.

She had come to adore him over the years, for he had earned her respect and regard through his own blood, sweat, tears and innocent smile, and now, he, along with Ino, were her two bestest blonde friends. True to form, their combined forces had driven her insane on a daily basis in their younger days, but Sakura found that she missed his cheerful smile and upbeat attitude very much, now that he'd all but disappeared.

Sakura turned slightly to the left to see Neji staring disdainfully down at his bowl of ramen.

Earlier that day, she had felt that it was finally time to venture out into public and risk the fallout of the Sasuke Incident, and Neji was acting as her resident bodyguard and companion, so to speak. Hiding behind Neji every time she saw anyone she knew, they had slowly made their way over to the Ichiraku for lunch.

"Stop scowling at your food and eat already, Hyuuga."

He continued to stare at the bowl noncommittally, and there was nothing in his expression that showed he'd even heard her except for the slight twitch above his left eyebrow.

"Oh come on, your Highness," she teased, aware of his reluctance to eat what he termed 'The Trash that Naruto Likes.' "It's my treat, so you better appreciate it."

"No," he replied, point-blank, as he carefully placed his wooden chopsticks down.

"No?"

He coughed lightly before saying (rather sweetly, she thought later), "I've already paid."

"You always beat me to it!"

"Hn. I wouldn't let you pay for me."

(She'd always suspected him of being a somewhat stunted, pseudo-gentleman.)

"I've never known you to treat anyone before. Tenten-san said you're probably the second stingiest bastard in all of Konoha, apart from my sensei, that is." A pause. "Are you trying to tell me something, Hyuuga?" She gave him an exaggerated wink.

The corners of his mouth curled up, and his smirk was intensely familiar. "Don't get too comfortable. It won't last."

"I knew there'd be a catch in there somewhere. I guess I should just cut my losses and be glad that it's lasted this long, ne, Neji-_kun_?"

"Your words, Haruno, not mine."

She laughed, and they lapsed into a companionable silence. After awhile, she thought to ask him about whether he'd seen any sign of Naruto around lately, since he and Hinata were now in a relationship.

"Hey Neji," she poked him lightly in the shoulder to get his attention, and he swung around to focus his lavender-tinted gaze on her. She had no idea why, but she always seemed to forget the effect his eyes had on her. Shaking her head lightly, she continued.

"Do you know what's happening with Naruto and Hinata at the moment? I haven't seen either one of them in ages, and that's pretty weird considering the fact that it's _Naruto_ we're talking about. Have you… seen him around?"

The Hyuuga considered her question for a moment before speaking, almost as if he was weighing up what he should say and what he shouldn't. Finally, he reluctantly answered;

"Naruto has stayed overnight in a guest room at the Hyuuga compound twice. He and Hinata appear to be close, and train with each other quite a bit. They seem to be happy."

Perceptively, Sakura sensed a slight undercurrent of something, she didn't know what, in Neji's voice. Was it something to do with the Main House? Risking his displeasure, she tentatively asked if his family 'approved.'

"Hiashi has not said it outright, but I sense that he gives them his blessing."

Sakura paused to digest this, but before anything further could be said between them, Sakura's eyes had caught onto movement by the glass door of the restaurant, which opened to accept a figure clad in blue.

Her heart gave a surprised little jolt at the instant recognition and she eyed the person warily.

It was Sasuke.

Sakura sighed. She'd come out of hiding for a reason, she supposed, and it was time to face the music.

Here it was, the moment of truth.

* * *

Sakura shifted slightly on her seat, making eye contact with the Uchiha. She stifled the uneasy flutterings that stirred in her lower abdomen as they locked gazes and prayed to whatever deities were looking over her at that moment to lend her strength.

Forcing a smile onto her face, she waved him over.

"Sasuke-kuuun! Over here!"

For a heart-stopping second she thought he would ignore her and walk out, but he didn't. Jamming his hands into his pockets, he meandered over to their table slowly.

She thought she saw Neji tense after she had called out the name, a muscle jumping visibly at his jaw, but his expression was carefully bland and after a moment or two, she dismissed it as her imagination. Sasuke and Neji had never really gotten along, but it was easy to forget until moments like these.

As Sasuke paused by their table, Sakura promptly forgot her line of thought. His eyebrows were already set into an irritable expression and Sakura could tell without looking that he was gritting his teeth.

Before she could even open her mouth to speak, he had curtly cut her off.

"Sakura. Have you seen Naruto?"

Slightly startled at his blunt manner, she guessed that Sasuke probably hadn't seen any of the blonde recently either, and that was saying something because they were usually joined at the hip.

"Not since the party, no. Is there something wrong, Sasuke-kun?"

Ignoring her, he abruptly turned to stalk away, but he seemed to midjudge his closeness to their table and swung his hand a little too close to Neji.

Neji, who had been stiffly sitting still up until that point, leapt backwards off his seat to avoid the contact as if he'd been burned--

…And not a moment too soon, because the Uchiha's hand had knocked Neji's (mostly uneaten) bowl of ramen, and sent it toppling over the edge of the table, falling end over end until it went _splat!_ on the ground.

The bowl clattered onto the tiles, spilling its contents and causing the Uchiha to turn back, to mutter an apology.

He seemed to catch the Hyuuga's eye, and gave him an inscrutable look, which Neji returned in kind.

Then, he turned and walked right off again, leaving Sakura and Neji bewildered and alone.

"That was…strange," Sakura managed, risking a sidelong glance at the Hyuuga. He had been as skittish as a horse, just then.

They book looked at the mess that the bowl of ramen had become, and Sakura could distinctly see the slow relaxing of the Hyuuga's tensed shoulders as he let out a deep breath, out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah," he agreed, "it was."

* * *

A couple of days later, Neji was beating up the last practice dummy left in the Hyuuga training grounds – all the other ones had been utterly destroyed in his wake.

He would have asked his uncle Hiashi or Hanabi to spar with him, but they had long since figured out that it was best to stay out of his way when he was in one of his 'moods'. Frankly, he would have done the same, if he were in their shoes.

Hinata was also somewhere in the compound, and he would have gone to her as a last resort if she did not already have a guest over (he still felt funny about sparring with Hinata after that first time in the Chuunin exam all those years ago). Incidentally, the guest was the one-and-only Naruto.

The blonde had looked rather pale and drawn from what Neji could observe. His hair had lost a little of its golden luster and Hinata seemed slightly worried.

He couldn't really read Naruto, which was what he was most apprehensive about. The blonde was usually as blunt and open about his thoughts and emotions as the clear blue sky. He was perfectly attentive to Hinata, but there was just something…missing.

To Neji, it seemed as if the couple weren't actually all that…cohesive, although it pained him greatly to say it. There was just something _off _between them, something not quite right, and he didn't want Hinata to get hurt, but he just didn't know how to intervene. Neji had his suspicions about the relationship from that start, but his cousin had just admired Naruto from afar for so long that he was reluctant to undermine her fragile and newly formed bond with him.

He could always be wrong, he'd been mistaken in his judgment before, and for her sake, he hoped that that would be the case for this time as well.

Snapping the dummy's head off with a last roundhouse kick and flip to finish, he shook his head, disgusted. He had not been concentrating on the task at hand, to be honest. Instead, his thoughts kept creeping back to a certain inscrutable Avenger.

He sighed.

Stripping off his sweaty training shirt, he made his way to the baths. Maybe a long, hot soak would soothe his muscles and allow him to forget about…what he had witnessed the night of Genma's party. And the unreadable look that the Uchiha had sent him at Ichiraku the other day, the way the bowl of ramen had been knocked over and would've landed in his lap had he not jumped out of the way in time. And then there was that time where…

Groaning slightly, Neji slammed open the door of the bathhouse. It was deserted at that time of day, for which he was very glad. He wondered if it would reflect badly on him if he were to repeatedly smack his forehead against the wall in his frustration at the predicament at hand. Surely, if he put enough force into it, he would knock himself out and relieve himself of the disturbing memories of the Uchiha for the rest of the day. He could always get Sakura to heal him later, although there were bound to be a few awkward questions asked…

He sighed again.

_What was wrong with him?_

The truth was, Hyuuga Neji was very scared.

And confused - over the fact that he had somehow managed to unwittingly steal Sakura's beloved's affections, and now he would have to pay the price. Had he done something in a past life that warranted such torture? Was he bound to be screwed over by fate for the rest of his life? Would the gods never have pity on his poor soul?

Oh, it was a cruel, cruel irony.

Slipping into the hot water after divesting himself of the rest of his clothes, Neji rubbed his face, let the water wash over his skin and drain away his troubles. The steam purified him, gave him an escape in its foggy density. He then slipped into a light meditative state that reached out and allowed him to become aware of every little detail within a twenty-feet radius, and remained that way for some time, before suddenly –

--He felt a foreign chakra edging along the barriers he had erected in his consciousness to alert him of a person's presence before they could surprise him. He sensed no ill intent, but quickly he rose, wrapping a towel about his waist, putting his hands together in a seal and instantly teleporting outside to where his consciousness had been triggered by the stranger.

What he found froze him in his tracks.

_You are a ninja. Forbearance is your friend._

"Uchiha," he said.

---------

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Sasuke stared at Neji as if **he** were the one who was trespassing on private property, and not the other way around. He stood there, wordless, and Neji took the opportunity to sweep their surroundings. They were on the roof of a building near the Main House, and there were trees directly above, shading them from view from the other side of the bordering wall that went all the way around the compound. Sasuke was slightly stooped, as if he had been in the middle of jumping in when the Hyuuga had intercepted him.

"Explain yourself," Neji demanded, taking a threatening step towards the passive Avenger.

The Uchiha completely disregarded him, and instead, had looked around, as if he were expecting something or someone to appear.

Reaching instinctively for a kunai of some sort, Neji subtly patted at his right thigh, only for his fingers to be met with nothing but his soft towel.

Suddenly Neji was all too aware of what he was wearing – or what he **wasn't.**

'Way to be dressed appropriately when engaging your enemies,' he thought bitterly. 'Especially this one.' His teammate Tenten would have a field day if she ever heard about this.

Frustrated at the Uchiha's silence, Neji narrowed his eyes and dropped into the jyuuken stance, fluidly shifting his feet on the roof tiles and gesturing at the Uchiha to come forward.

He didn't count on the fact that Sasuke merely turned tail, leaping off the side wall and back into the thick brush surrounding the Hyuuga estate, and altogether making a disappearing act worthy of any hunter-nin and with a speed that rivaled Lee's.

Straightening up and fixing his damn towel (it had slipped a little as he'd prepared to fight), he scowled.

This…_thing_ with Uchiha Sasuke had gone _way_ too far. He would fear for his sanity and peace of mind for the rest of his life if he didn't do something about it, and _soon_.

* * *

That 'soon' turned out to be the next day. (What could he say? He was really, really desperate.)

He found his former-sensei Gai, the Original Green Beast of Konoha, practicing his tai-jutsu alone, by a stream, on the other side of Konoha.

Having no idea what he intended to do, it was a testament to his extreme anxiety about the Sasuke Question that he left no time to second-guess himself and strode up to where his sensei was yelling encouragements to himself ("If I don't finish at least a thousand more round-house kicks in the next twenty-minutes, I shall have to circle Konoha five times doing a three-fingered handstand!") and making his presence known.

"Sensei," he called out stiffly.

Gai turned at the sound of the familiar voice, and his face scrunched up as he instantly recognized one of his youthful students (sure, it wasn't his absolute favourite, the beautiful Lee, but that was okay) standing about ten feet away from him.

For a moment, Neji thought Gai was going to weep. _This was a bad idea, _he thought, inwardly groaning, _a VERY bad idea._

Thankfully, Gai did no such thing.

"Neji, oh-youthful-student of mine! What brings you to this side of town on this lovely day?"

For a second, the Hyuuga contemplated ditching his plans to seek advice from his sensei (what had he been _thinking!_) and just making a run for it. But his pride kept his feet glued to the spot – he wasn't a coward, and nor would he run away from something he feared.

Steeling himself, he looked up to find Gai studying him.

"My boy, you're looking distinctly green. Shall you join me in my exercises and work up a healthy, youthful sweat?"

Not waiting for a response, Gai grabbed his arm and he allowed himself to be pulled towards the stream. It was his last chance to escape. Instead --

"Gai-sensei," he called out awkwardly. "I need your help."

The pulling on his sleeve instantly ceased and he was left winded when something instantly slammed against his chest, arms covered in something remarkably like spandex wrapping around him in a suffocating embrace. When he was finally let go and allowed to resume his breathing, he looked up and was almost blinded by the glaring shine of teeth and hair. Gai was smiling broadly at him, and it was truly a frightening scene to behold.

"Neji-son! I never thought it would happen! You were always such a lonesome boy! I'm so honoured that you would think to come to your former-sensei for advice! Never fear, for I am here!"

At this point, he swung his arm out and did the good-guy pose, almost whacking Neji's shoulder in the process. He definitely managed to clip the Hyuuga on the arm though, and smiled sheepishly in apology. Neji tried not to glare. It wouldn't do to scare his sensei and only chance at redemption away, even if he _was_ rather eccentric.

"Tell me, my boy, was it women troubles you were having?"

"Not exactly-"

"Oh, how I have waited for this day! I always thought Lee would be the one to bear the troubling fruits of romance first, but it seems he is utterly in heaven with Tenten!"

"I-"

"I always thought that you would be the one to end up with my favourite female student, but alas! Lee has stolen her from under you!"

"No-"

"But my beautiful green beast always DID have more charming determination and youthful passion than you, son! So don't feel too bad!"

"Sensei," Neji said, quietly and rather threateningly. Gai paused in his tirade. It seemed he had gotten carried away with the joy of the moment again.

"Yes, Neji, my beloved student?"

"I don't know what to d-"

"Alas! That's what I'm here for! Tell me your troubles, boy, and I shall do my best to render them nay! You need only-"

That was when Neji snapped. Charging forwards, he grabbed Gai by the front of his spandex leotard and pulled him close, so close that he could see his own image in Gai's glassy dark eyes.

"The Uchiha is in love with me," he hissed, nose-to-nose with his stunned sensei.

He waited for it to sink in, and the clearing was left unnaturally quiet.

It was quite some time later when Gai finally managed to blink. Left utterly flabbergasted, he opened his mouth to say something, but Neji instantly clapped a hand over it.

"Don't tell _anyone_." he growled, panic starting to slowly quicken his heartbeat. He hadn't really meant to blurt it out like that. He'd been aiming for more of a subtle 'what the shit do I do now' approach, without actually telling his sensei who the problems were _about – _but somehow, it had just come out all wrong.

"Not a soul, do you hear me?"

Gai started nodding vigorously and it was only then that Neji removed his hand. He glowered a little at his ex-sensei for good measure.

"Ah", Gai said, when he had recovered his powers of speech, "I can assure you that I am totally dedicated to your confidentiality."

--------

Little did Gai and Neji know, but about a hundred yards away, Kakashi sat, hidden in the upper branches of a tree.

He grinned.

He had _always_ been rather adept in the art of lip-reading.

* * *

It only took a couple of hours for the news to spread like wildfire about the village.

If a person were to chance a visit into town, all they would see were females collapsed in ragged piles, bawling their eyes out, everywhere.

It was like a widespread epidemic - one that didn't show any signs of evaporating any time soon.

-------

"I always thought there was something weird about him" Chouji nodded, munching on his chips. He was sitting with his legs crossed on the hill, utterly content with the world with his friends around him. Plus, he had three more packets of super-sized barbeque chips up his sleeve. They would last him for awhile.

"Yeah, he never did give any of his fan girls the time of day," Kiba non-commitedly replied. The dog-lover was in the midst of stroking Akamaru's fur with a thick-bristled brush, ignoring his dog's mournful whining from the constant tugging at his shaggy fur.

"Sit still," he said to Akamaru. "You're making it worse."

"Makes sense now," Shikamaru added, chewing on a blade of grass. He was lying on his back, slightly elevated by his elbows as he soaked up the dying rays of the sun. The clouds were rather scarce that day, but that was okay. Weather was predictable, weather was nice. Not like women, and not like the angsty prodigies that they knew.

"Dunno what Ino will make of it though. She used to be in love with him, just like the rest of the female population in Konoha."

"Poor Sakura," Kiba suddenly thought out loud. The others all nodded their agreement.

"…" Shino put in.

(Akamaru howled his assent.)

"So, he's after Neji?"

"Apparently so."

They all paused, looking at each other. Shikamaru was the one to lazily put it into words.

"This is so weird."

* * *

Sakura could've sworn that something weird was going on when she went into town several days later.

Many females were wearing white, as if they were mourning. Some had cut their hair short, some had just plain shaved it all off.

And _all_ of them looked pale and spent from crying.

Doing her grocery shopping as slowly as she plausibly could, she managed to hear little snippets of conversation that piqued her curiosity greatly.

"It's such a shame really…"

"Fine young man…"

"…no wonder he always looked like he had a stick up his butt…"

"…too pretty for his own good…"

"…doesn't he want to carry on the family line?"

She tried edging closer to the sources of conversation but each and every time, as if through some divine intervention, the speakers always got interrupted just as she was getting a good gist of what they were saying or was finally near enough to hear.

It frustrated her to no end.

She was still thinking about the strange events of that morning later as she went home to change into her training clothes.

Sneaking up on Sai at their preferred training grounds, she whacked him one on the back of the head as hard as she could before sprinting away.

As predicted, his clone poof!ed into white smoke and then disappeared.

"Sai, you wiseass, you can come out now."

He dropped out of the tree he'd been sleeping in.

"You caught me. What gave it away? I thought that one was rather good."

"He looked too passive. Too nice. It was obviously not you."

"Touché."

"Close-range hand-to-hand combat today? I feel like beating something up."

"You're on."

They settled into battle stances and slowly began to circle each other. He was the first to attack with a roundhouse kick and she dodged fluidly, bringing her hands up to trap his legs but he flipped and kicked her away. Locking her arms with his, they punched and dodged back and forth for awhile, until he managed to twist one of her arms to the back.

"So," Sai said conversationally as they struggled against each other's bonds, "How are you feeling about the news?"

Sakura swiped at Sai's legs, twisting her body for access which resulted in him dodging and jumping away.

"What news?"

She launched another attack on his upper torso, disappearing from sight for a moment to appear above his head, snapping her leg down to slam him into the ground.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said.

He dodged at the very last moment, but suffered damage to his left arm. He watched warily as the foot that would have been planted in his head smashed into the ground, cracking it and causing a mini inwards-collapsing of the earth. Grasping his forearm, he shifted away from sight, but his disembodied voice still floated over to where Sakura was standing.

"Yeah you keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better, old hag."

Closing her eyes, Sakura concentrated on extending her senses until the critical moment where she would feel Sai strike at her again and she would be able to dodge.

"No, seriously. Tell me. Everyone's been doing that to me today."

He appeared behind her, scissoring his legs to catch her shoulders, but she leapt away, falling into a safe roll.

"Doing what?" he asked as he flipped off the ground and lunged at her again, renewing his punches and kicks.

"_That._ It feels like everybody else knows something that I don't."

Suddenly, he stopped, and straightened up from his formerly crouched position. Sakura eyed him suspiciously as he absent-mindedly brought up a hand to brush at his dirtied clothes. Sai narrowed his eyes at her as he crossed his arms.

"Are you _serious?_ Have you been hiding under a rock or something? How could you not _know_?"

"I just don't," she snapped, finally running out of patience. "Are you going to enlighten me now? What is this groundbreaking 'news' of yours? It better not be some lame rumour about Jiraiya and Tsunade-sama being seen making out again 'coz otherwise I'll kick your ass."

Sai looked at her strangely, brought up a hand to run it through his hair. It was a gesture he had picked up from Naruto, as unbelievable as that sounded.

"Well, if you don't already know, then I'm not sure I'm the one who should tell you."

Sighing irritably, she turned to walk away- "Well if you're not going to tell me, then I'll find someone who will," – but Sai grabbed her wrist, and held her fast.

"The rumour mill in Konoha's been going crazy, Sakura. Surely you must've noticed all the miserable fan girls lying about in the street?"

She thought back to that morning. So it seemed like everything was sort of connected, but somehow, she was still missing the biggest link.

Sai was the one to finally spell it out for her.

"Uchiha Sasuke is gay, Sakura. And apparently, there's something going on between him and Hyuuga Neji."

* * *

A/N: Er…thoughts, anyone? XD.

This chapter was originally going to be even _longer_ but I thought I might back off a little to give you guys some breathing space. I'm sorry that it's mostly a transition-y sort of chapter.

I'll probably end up rewriting this story in part by the end of it...mostly because I want it to flow better. Just so you know!

Please do expect another update in less than a month. I'll try my best not to disappoint this time!

Next time, 'Confrontations!'


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Naruto, Humor, Romance