Disclaimer: Sadly, I have not attained Naruto or any of its characters this past birthday. But there's always Christmas...

Okay, I know I still have not finished my other fic, and I promised myself I would finish Not So Simple After All before I posted this... but I truly couldn't resist. And I've had this written for like, two months. Never fear, I am almost done with the finale. So very close...

Onwards with the story!!!!!!!!!

Powerful

In this short life

That only lasts an hour

How much, how little

Is within our power!

-Emily Dickinson

Chapter 1

Great. Just Great.

I was so excited when I heard Sasuke had come back to the village. It felt like this would be the greatest day of my life. I was running to the gate when I saw her.

Her. Possibly the foulest, most terrible creature that ever crawled into my view. And I've seen a lot of foul, terrible creatures, so that's saying something. Imagine, the first time I ever see Sasuke in such a long time, and he has a woman on his arm. She had jet black hair and black eyes and pale, flawless skin and the perfect figure. She was absolutely beautiful. And I hated her.

You know what the worst part is? The absolute worst part? It was the small bulge in her belly, the telltale sign, and the finale of the mutilation of my dreams. She was pregnant with Sasuke's child.

I stopped before I got to them, before anyone even saw me. Quickly, I hid in an alley. I thought I was safe after I had set up a genjutsu to disguise myself. I guess I just couldn't get a break that day.

About ten minutes later, Neji walked into the alley as well. I guess I couldn't call him my boyfriend back then, we'd only been on two dates. Anyway, he had his Bakuyan activated, so I knew he could see me, genjutsu or no. It was no use hiding.

"Sakura," he called to me, "You have to meet them sometime."

I didn't want to, but I released the genjutsu. "I know…"

What a pitiful sight I must have been…red, puffy eyed, tear-stricken face, crouched up against a dirty wall…I was so ashamed…and he was smirking.

"On second thought, you might want to put up anther genjutsu, a different one. You don't want them to see you like this, do you?"

I quickly did the seals for another genjutsu to alter my appearance. Now I looked fine; the only problem was that I didn't feel fine. I felt horrible. I asked him, "Will you come with me?"

"Of course, I was planning to. But I don't think it would look appropriate for us to be seen walking out of an alley."

We snuck out the back way of the alley and around the block before we entered the group crowded around the newcomers. It seems we were the last to arrive. Naruto must have been looking for me; he pulled me to the front immediately. And I grabbed Neji's hand for dear life and looked everywhere but at Sasuke. Strangely, this wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, not with Neji by my side.

And then Sasuke's feet came into my vision. I don't know how I knew they were his feet; I just did. And then my eyes traveled up right into his obsidian orbs.

I could get lost in those eyes so easily. I started thinking about how awful I must look and scared and weak and timid and how he must think I haven't changed a bit and how I'm still a weak little girl who needs to be protected…But then I felt Neji squeeze my hand, and I knew I looked fine thanks to my jutsu, I am a strong, capable jounin who can fend for myself and my teammates need me and my abilities. I felt powerful. Well, sorta.

"Welcome back, Sasuke." Did I just say that? I guess so…Amazingly, no 'kun' followed, and there was no squealing, hugging, swooning, or fainting.

Beside me, I heard a sharp inhale before a calmed, forced "Uchiha." Neji never did like Sasuke too much.

"Hyunga," Sasuke grunted. I don't think Sasuke was so fond of Neji either.

Now, not to be too hasty, but Sasuke had yet to answer me. His gaze had left my eyes and moved downwards. I have to admit, I was a bit peeved. I still am. I mean, who leaves for three years, comes back, and then ignores the girl who poured her heart out to him before he left. Sasuke, that's who.

Damn it! Why won't he answer him? Oh great, now he was glaring at me! I can't decide whether or not this was an improvement, at least he was paying attention to me now. But what the hell had I done wrong?!!

"Sakura." That had to be the coldest, most emotionless tone he ever used to say her name. And I mean, I thought he was cold to me before. Naruto, who was standing beside him, winced a bit.

"What a happy reunion," muttered Shikamaru, standing a little to my left. Oh yeah, we were like old chums. But honestly, what was I expecting? Certainly not a warm greeting or kindness, so what? I guess this was as warm as it gets with the human ice block.

I'm starting to feel sorry for that woman he impregnated. She has to put up with him all the time. When I think about it now, I'm not so sure I could do that. Then again, I could just be trying to make myself feel better. Silver lining my ass.

And then, a sudden thought entered my mind: 'Where was this woman? I didn't see her anywhere. Where was she? Could this whole thing be a big misunderstanding?' I started to get this jumpy feeling, like I did when I was younger, just not as much.

Of course, he ruined it for me. "Have you met my fiancé yet? She was just here?"

And there she was, walking towards us as the crowd parted. She said with a sweet smile on her face, "Gomen, Sasuke-kun. I was just talking with the Hokage. She's very kind…and young. I was expecting her to be much older. I heard she was around my grandmother's age."

Oh how I wanted to slap her. I think Tsunade-shishou wanted to too…

"Everyone, I would like you to meet Anzu. We're getting married as soon as we can."

"I see you already went on the honeymoon! Congratulations, teme!" Shut up, Naruto!

I felt like running back into my alley, but I couldn't. One: I had to prove that I wasn't weak, to myself and everyone else. Two: Neji had a death grip on my hand and every little glance I took to look at his pearly white eyes—I knew that he'd pull me through this. A small sense of power returned to me.

"Neji Hyunga," he said, slightly bowing his head.

I followed his example and said, "Sakura Haruno," then, reaching out to shake hands, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," she answered.

Naruto draped his arms around me and Neji's shoulders, all the while glaring at Neji. I guess he noticed the whole 'holding hands' thing. "Now that everyone's been acquainted with one another, who wants to get some ramen?"

"I think we need to meet with the Hokage first and get all the formal stuff over with," Sasuke answered.

"Okay," Naruto paused a moment to think, "How 'bout tonight then? Is 6:00 good with you?"

And that's about how I ended up here, at 6:50 P.M., having the absolute time of my life. NOT.

I think this would have been one of the worst nights of my life if it hadn't been for Neji, my hero.

My hero? That's sounds a bit too corny, especially for Neji. I guess I'm just in a corny mood at the moment, so he'll have to deal with it.

Now everyone was there by the time I arrived, except Kakashi, but that can't be helped. And as expected, Sasuke and Anzu were the centers of attention.

As soon as I walked in, I attempted to make a beeline to Neji who was talking with Shikamaru and Lee in the corner. Of course, I was intercepted by Ino, who bombarded me with all her worries. She can be like my mother sometimes; it's weird. But she is my best friend, and she just wanted to know if I was okay.

Ino didn't like Anzu either. In fact, she and I spent the next twenty minutes thinking up every horrible event that could happen to her. We even killed off Sasuke a few times.

It's so much fun to dream…but it's not fun waking back up.

I don't know who made the seating arrangements, but I'm sure he or she had something against me. I had to sit right across from Anzu. Oh joy, I could barely contain my enthusiasm…or my dinner. And then beside me was Shino. If anyone has ever tried having a conversation with him, but it's like talking to a wall. On my other side was Hinata. She is just as quiet and spent the whole time staring at Naruto and blushing. She still hadn't grown out of her shy phase, if it is a phase, it could just be permanent. To top of all this off, Neji was on the other side of the table by Tenten. Even Ino was a few seats away.

So, I sat there, trying to think of anything but Anzu and Sasuke. And then, I had this super crazy idea—did Tenten make the seating charts?

I mean, who else would stick Neji by Tenten? And then stick me so far away? Everyone knew Tenten had always had this monster crush on him!

Now, Neji did give her a chance. He's actually given lots of girls chances. They would go on one date—one date only—and if he wasn't satisfied, that was as far as it went.

As so, Neji and Tenten, although envisioned as a great couple, only went on one date. Now, Tenten didn't hate the other girls he had gone on a date with, so why did she hate me? I mean, she hasn't even spoken to me (and we're supposed to be close friends) for the whole month I'd been dating the Hyunga genius.

Simple: I was the only girl Neji had gone on a second date with. And how she hated me for it.

Anyway, I was basically alone for the actual meal. And it was killing me. After Shino had finished his ramen though; he claimed he didn't feel like sticking around. He left—much to my thankfulness.

I immediately moved over one seat—away from Anzu and Sasuke. Now I was by Ino and Shikamaru was across from me. I felt so much better. The three of us (and then Chouji joined in) hit it off. I know this might sound strange, but I've always felt freer when I'm talking to someone who's a friend but not a close friend. Get what I mean?

They see the me I want everybody to see, not the inner me who was bursting full of secret emotions and problems just a minute before. Ino would know, but the guys didn't.

It was nice.

It was even nicer when Neji took the seat I had been sitting in next to me. Then Kiba and Lee pulled up some chairs and joined us. We had a good little group going—Sasuke and Anzu were off my mind and Tenten was out of sight. I felt powerful again.

And then, when I was actually having fun, a messenger came. He told Neji that he was needed at ANBU headquarters right away. And Neji left, just like a dedicated ninja should. He apologized and promised he would be back as soon as he could. But I knew; I would be alone for the rest of the night and some time after. These ANBU things usually last much longer than expected, anyway.

It was sometime after that when the waiters cleared away most of the tables and turned a record player on. There would be dancing. Why the hell did there have to be dancing?!!

Soon, all the couples wandered over to the dance floor. There was Naruto and Hinata, Sasuke and Anzu, and Shikamaru and Ino. Chouji and Lee soon left; they had an early mission the next morning. And all of this left me with…Kiba? I mean, the instructors (Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai) were still here; they were drinking sake in the far corner.

Eventually I asked Kiba to dance with me—mostly because I was running out of things to talk about but didn't feel like leaving yet.

He he…that's about when I learned that Kiba had hands like an octopus and a fondness for my backside…

So now, Kiba was dancing with the waitress and I was putting on my coat and picking up my purse. I was so ready to leave; I was even praying for a clean getaway. But Ino must have seen me heading for the door; she pulled my away when I was so close. "You're not leaving already, are you?"

"Yes, I am," I answered, "I'd rather not spend the rest of the night sitting at a table by myself. I think I should have just left with Neji."

Shikamaru appeared behind Ino and said, "I'm about to go too, Ino. I'm on that same mission with Lee and Chouji."

"No, you're not!"

"It was worth a try," muttered Shikamaru.

"Come on," Ino persisted, "I'll come sit with you."

"No," I sighed, "I don't want to interrupt you two."

"But—"

"No buts. Goodnight, Ino, Shikamaru. Have fun."

"Um…Sakura?" What was with Ino now? She had this really strange look on her face.

Shikamaru nodded his head, "Neji."

And that's when I felt someone's warm breath on my neck. Turning around, I immediately faced the oh-so familiar pearly white eyes. "Neji?"

"Leaving already?" He said while slightly raising his eyebrow. Had he heard what I said?

"I was about to, but—"

"Dance with me."

"Well, I really should—" My argument never stood a chance. In the next minute, all four of us were on the dance floor, dancing with our dates.

Neji is actually quite a good dancer. I am not. I spent the first fifteen minutes stepping on his toes and apologizing and trying to listen to and follow Neji as he instructed me on how to dance properly. It was embarrassing, but sweet.

After I had learned the steps a bit better (and quit prancing on Neji's toes), he explained why he had had to leave. Neji (and the elite Hyunga clan members in general) is in charge of sealing up the prisoners' chakra holes. One of them broke a few seals in his arms and Neji was needed to plug it right back up. He came back as fast as he could. Now, I personally think, he did that just for me (even though he didn't say it); I feel that he meant it. It was like, saying it without saying it. Yeah, that's sounds good.

I was having a good time again, and I was not thinking about Sasuke and Anzu. In fact, they barely crossed my train of thought for the rest of the night.

Neji walked me home after the little party. I guess tonight counted as our third date. I decided to give him a kiss on the cheek as a deeply felt thank you. I swear I saw him blush.

I was feeling more powerful than ever.

In my fic, Sakura will from time to time refer to herself feeling "powerful." This is not some sort of physical aspect. it pertains to confidence, happiness, and an over-all sense of well-being. Obviously, this is what I named the fic after, and will come into play at least once in every chapter, most likely more than that.

In case you have not noticed, this is not my usual sasusaku fics. It's nejisakusasu. It seems all nejisaku now, but trust me, there will be sasusaku goodness in later chapters.

But, more importantly, I am opening a poll of sorts. Mostly, I want to see who my readers want to be together (and I cannot decide for myself.) So, vote now. Either Neji or Sasuke will end up with Sakura, you decide. Just say whoever you want in a review or whatever.

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!