Disclaimer: I own Naruto and there's nothing you can do about it! ...uh... why are you looking at me like that? sweat drops under heavy glare Okay okay! I don't own Naruto! Happy now?

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Chapter 1 - How it began

Neji scowled as the annoyingly cheerful people passed by him in hordes. It was the annual Konoha fall festival and Tsunade had required that every shinobi in the village was to attend for appearance, due to the fact that many shinobi and Kages from other villages were coming for the event. Personally, he thought frivolities like this were a waste of time. Why would he want to mindlessly wander around drinking, eating, and... socializing. The thought made his eye twitch. He could be training, dammit.

There were also those giggling girls in the distance who kept shooting him admiring glances. His annoy-o-meter was skyrocketing.

In fact, the reason he was here was not because of Tsunade. Hinata was here, and he had been ordered to watch over her during the festival. Sure enough, the lavender-haired girl could be seen in the distance talking to her new boyfriend, Uzumaki Naruto. If Hiashi-sama were to ever know about heir relationship, there would be hell to pay. He never approved of Naruto.

Hinata didn't stutter as much as she used to and seemed a little less shy. She had grown over the years and no longer wore that oversized coat. Naruto was just Naruto. Minus the orange jumpsuit, which he grown out of, he was the same overactive blonde he's always been. He now wore a jounin vest.

Despite the persuasion he had received from the moronic duo known as Lee and Gai, he refused to join in the festives. Instead, he sat in a relaxed position under a tree with one leg bent and the other out in front of him with an arm resting on his bent leg, glaring at everything that breathes. Yep, usual Neji. He hadn't changed much in the past 5 years. Everything from his hair to his attitude was the same, except the fact that he had grown. Even now, at 19, he was still as hateful as when he was 13. He was an ANBU captain now, and often leads a team consisting of Lee, Naruto, and Shino on A and S-class missions. Tenten and Shikamaru weren't up for joining the ANBU and Sakura, Ino, Choji, Kiba, and Hinata were still chuunin.

"Um… Excuse me, Neji-san." he looked up upon hearing his name, slightly annoyed at having been jarred from his thoughts so suddenly. It was a teenage girl a couple of years younger than him who had spoken and she was now looking him with a slight blush on her cheeks, friends in tow. She had bouncy auburn hair and brown eyes. How she knew his name, he didn't care to know.

"Hn." replied, glaring at her with his pearl-white eyes.

"Would you like to dance with me?" she asked, indicating to the many dancing couples a short way away. More and more people seemed to take interest and were moving out onto the round dancing space between the many festival booths.

So that's where that annoying music was coming from…he thought.

"No." he said without hesitation. "Go away." He had no interest in dancing and he never would. She wasn't that unfortunate looking, but he took no interest in women. He wasn't gay or anything, but love would get in the way of his training. The girl walked off looking extremely put-out as her friends sent angry looks his way, which soon dissolved into admiring stares.

Women… he thought with disgust.

Half an hour and about 3 dance rejections later, a certain pink head in the distance caught his attention.

Haruno Sakura.

Ever since that incident 5 years ago during the chuunin exams, she kept her hair somewhat short. Short hair always did suit her. Being 18 now, she had grown out of that red dress and now wore a sleeveless blue shirt with a v-neck and black pants that stopped a few inches above her ankles. Her forehead protector was perched in its usual spot atop her head and she wore simple black wristbands.

Currently, she was talking cheerfully to that blonde friend of hers, 'Yamanaka Ino' if her remembered correctly.

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Sakura smiled and said goodbye to her current dance partner before making her way over to Ino, who was currently buying some cool jewelry from one of the booths.

"Hey, forehead-girl!" Check out this necklace!" the blonde said cheerfully, holding up the newly bought choker.

"Don't you already have one like that, Ino-pig?" Despite the fact that they were both good friends now, they still called each other by the charming pet names from when they were 12.

Suddenly, a drunken Shikamaru appeared and threw a startled Ino over his shoulder and, laughing like a madman, ran with her out to the dance floor.

"I wanna dance!" he shouted gleefully, quite unlike his usual lazy drawl. That…was the strangest thing I have ever seen. The pink-haired chuunin thought, staring in shock at the now dancing couple. So that's the power of alcohol…

As she stood there laughing at the sight of Ino and Shikamaru dancing, she suddenly had the feeling that she was being watched. It gave her the chills.

Looking around, her emerald eyes locked with a pair of white ones. She knew it was Hyuuga Neji, for there was no mistaking that long, coffee-colored hair and cold, impassive face. Despite the fact that she still held a torch for Sasuke, she couldn't deny that the Hyuuga was hot. Especially his hair. She always itched to touch it, but restrained herself for fear of losing her hand. She had been on a couple of missions with him and his team, being that she was, despite her shinobi rank, the top medic in the village under Tsunade and Neji was one of the top ANBU. It was only natural that they would end up doing missions together.

Smiling brightly, Sakura lifted her hand in greeting and waved at him cheerfully. Neji seemed to hesitate, before giving a slight nod in reply. He looked away soon after. Suddenly, her stomach growled viciously and she placed a hand over it in surprise.

Ugh. I'm hungry. she thought, smelling all of the delicious foods coming from the many booths. Foooood…

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Neji sighed and closed his eyes as he leaned back against the tree, resting his arm atop his propped up knee. He wished he could be anywhere but here. The noise was really starting to get to him.

"Hey, Neji-san." a feminine voice said.

"No, I will not dance with you." He replied in monotone, not opening his eyes and not bothering to hide the irritation in his voice. He sensed the girl sit next to him and the smell of strawberries and some sort of food greeted his nostrils.

"Who said I was asking?" she replied with amusement. He suddenly realized who it was.

"What do you want, Haruno?"

Sakura took a moment to answer, having taken a bite of her food.

So… good… she thought.

Damn strait! Inner Sakura added. Realizing that she still hadn't answered he question yet, she quickly replied. After all, it wasn't often that Hyuuga Neji spoke to her. Hell, it was often that he spoke to anyone.

"You were just sitting here by yourself so I decided to come and keep you company. Is that alright?" she said, taking another bite of her food.

"Hn." was his 'intelligent' reply.

Taking that as a yes, Sakura remained next to him by the tree while eating in silence, occasionally glancing at the aloof man beside her, who merely kept glaring strait ahead. The silence was starting to bother her.

"Beautiful weather, huh?"

"Hn."

Well, that went well. Sakura sighed at her pathetic attempt at starting a conversation. Neji will never change.

"My lovely cherry blossom!" a sickeningly happy voice suddenly resounded as a figure clad in green spandex ran towards Neji and Sakura.

"Lee…" they muttered in unison. Said ninja halted before them and started talking in a voice loud enough to make the surrounding pigeons scatter and fly away.

"Sakura, my love! May I have the honor of this dance?"

Her reply was to grimace.

"Alright, but no slow songs." she said, much to Lee's delight. "Hey, Neji-kun, can I leave my food here with you?" When the Hyuuga said nothing to respond, Sakura shrugged and placed the plate on the ground next to him before walking away with Lee, carefully making sure that there was at least three feet between them.

A pigeon was now inching closer and closer to Sakura's plate. The glare Neji shot at it was enough to make the poor bird jump right out of its feathers. In other words, it flew away in a frenzied panic. Eheh.

Is this what has become of me? Neji thought with a sigh. Have I been reduced to scaring away fat birds?

Neji scowled and turned to where the dancing was taking place and suddenly felt sick at the sight of Lee. He had seen many terrifying things in his life, but nothing of this magnitude. It was enough to bring a look of horror and astonishment to his usually impassive face and that, my friend, is an accomplishment.

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Sakura giggled as Lee danced before her. He seemed to be more focused on his movements than anything else. It wasn't that he was a bad dancer or anything. On the contrary, he was quite good. He was just a little… outdated. His moves were an odd mixture between disco and Michael Jackson, probably taught to him by Gai. In fact, his dancing was such a sight, that people had actually stopped moving to the music to watch in fascination. Unfortunately, Lee suddenly did the moonwalk followed by the worm, causing Sakura to double over in fits of laughter. Luckily, Lee didn't notice.

Figuring that the disco king clad in green would not notice her departure, Sakura

pusher her way past the amazed on-lookers and made her way over to the still scowling Neji, who looked to be trying to refuse a pretty blonde girl who wanted to dance with him. The girl was obviously not used to being rejected, for she wasn't giving up that easily. Sakura was suddenly hit with an idea.

"C'mon, Neji-kun, its just one dance!" the girl was saying. As Sakura approached them, she saw Neji's eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

"No." he replied coldly.

"Please? I'll make it worth your while later." she said suggestively.

"No."

"Hey, Neji-kun."

To both of their surprise, a certain pink-haired chuunin took a seat right on Neji's lap. He was only barely able to hide his astonishment when she leaned in and touched her nose to his, giving the illusion that they were kissing. Sakura turned to the now dumbfounded girl and smiled.

"Sorry." the pink-haired kunoichi said. "He's with me." Standing up, she took a hold of Neji's hand and pulled him to his feet. The Hyuuga was too shocked to do anything but comply. Hands still linked, she pulled him across the grass towards the festives. Many girls, who were previously trying to get the Hyuuga to dance with them, were staring at Sakura with resentment and jealousy written on their faces. Quite suddenly, Neji snapped out of whatever state of shock he was in.

"Where are you taking me, Haruno?" he snapped.

"How about, 'Thank you, lovely Haruno Sakura, for getting rid of all the unwanted attention.'" she replied, not releasing his hand. "And to answer your question, I'm taking you over there to dance." Neji abruptly stopped walking.

"No." he said.

"Why not? All you've been doing this whole time is sulk over there by that tree so I'm going to make sure you have a good time. Besides, you owe me." said Sakura, looking at him with a look that clearly said 'or else.'

Neji mumbled something under his breath.

"Eh? I didn't catch that."

"I said… I can't dance." he said slightly louder. Sakura forced herself not to laugh at his discomfort.

"Don't worry, it's not that hard." she said, smiling reassuringly.

Neji once again wondered what he was doing here as he was pulled out onto the dancing area. Mercifully, a slow song came on.

Once she had dragged him out onto the dance floor, she took both of his hands and placed them on her hips before wrapping her own arms around his shoulders. Lee and Tenten, who were dancing with each other nearby, were staring at Neji and Sakura as if the two of them had sprouted an extra head.

"Neji? She got NEJI to dance?" Tenten asked incredulously. "Wonders never cease…"

"Sakura…" Lee said, eyes filling with tears. "That beautiful youthful fire that burns within you… it has touched even Hyuuga!" Tenten rolled her eyes angrily.

All in all, it didn't really go too bad. Well… he DID trod on her feet a couple of times, but whatever. He did okay.

"I thought you said you couldn't dance?" Sakura teased. Neji looked away and didn't reply, choosing not to tell her about the dance lessons Gai-sensei had given them. That was one memory he wished he could forget.

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"No, no, no, Neji, you are getting it all wrong!" Gai criticized, stopping the music. "Feel the youthful blaze within you! Feel it and embrace it, my young learner! I train you not only for the battles for your life, but also for battles of love! You will never win the hearts of gorgeous babes if you can't even tango!"

Neji merely ignored him while Lee's eyes were filling with tears of admiration for the spandex clad man before them. Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Oh really?" she said with sarcasm clinging to her words. "And how many…'gorgeous babes'… have you won the hearts of, Gai-sensei?" Said jounin hesitated before replying.

"Plenty!" he said. "Now, anyways, the youthful Lee and I shall show you how its done!" He turned on some Spanish music and Neji and Tenten looked on in disgust as Lee and Gai began to salsa with each other.

Why must I be subjected to this… humiliation? Neji wondered to himself.

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Neji glanced at the pink-haired girl before him. Sakura had definitely changed from the weak and talent less girl he had seen during the chuunin exams. This probably had something to do with the disappearance of the Uchiha, whom she obviously loved. She even became the apprentice of the Hokage herself, and was now an excellent medic, top in the village even. That, and she had grown into a beautiful woman who caught the attention of men wherever she went. She intrigued him. Her face was always laughing, but her eyes were never happy. They always held a sad gleam for the boy who would never return her feelings. He could never figure out what it was she saw in the Uchiha.

Neji blinked upon noticing something: Sakura was bluntly staring at him.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." he said with irritation. Sakura flushed bright red and looked away.

"Sorry…" she mumbled with embarrassment. "You remind me of someone, that's all…"

"Who?" he asked, sending her out away from him in a twirl. When he brought her back, she seemed to be hesitating to answer, but he waited patiently.

"You remind me of…. of Sasuke." she finally said.

"The Uchiha?" Neji replied, distaste evident in his voice.

"Yes." she said sadly. "Sasuke always had that same look on his face, he never seemed fully happy…like you, Neji. He was always cold and indifferent to everybody, and never showed emotion aside from the occasional anger. I'd always hoped that it would be me who brought out his first true smile…"

My first actual conversation with Neji and its about Sasuke. How depressing… she thought with a sigh.

"But he left you and the village… and you still love him?"

"A part of me is always hoping that he will come back. I can't forget about him." Sakura replied.

"Hn."

"Hn?" she asked with a frown. "What does 'Hn.' mean, anyways?" Neji said nothing. She was beginning to get annoyed with the fact that he was pointedly ignoring her. That bastard.

"So…" she tried to think of a way to get him talking again. "How's it been going with training and stuff?" Even as the words left her mouth, she knew how utterly stupid they sounded.

"You talk too much." Neji responded.

"Hmph. Fine." Sakura said, turning to glare in a different direction. Her decision to ignore him for the rest of the song was forgotten in the span of five seconds as she turned back to the Hyuuga.

"Hey, you should smile more, Neji-kun." she said. He looked at her questioningly. "You would look more handsome if you did."

"Again with the talking." Neji replied, scowling and looking away as he felt the heat rise to his face. His eyes locked with those of his cousin, Hinata's, who was looking at him in astonishment with a spoon of ice cream halfway to her mouth. It probably had something to do with the fact that he, Hyuuga Neji, was actually dancing with someone. Sakura was looking at him in amazement as well, but for a different reason.

Was he… Is he…? the pink-haired girl thought.

"Are you… blushing?" she asked incredulously.

"N-No." he replied. Blushing? He couldn't be… could he?

"Yes you are!" she started to giggle. "I got the ice bitch of Konoha to blush! Oh, yeah! I'm good!"

"I," he stopped their dance and looked at her intensely. "do NOT blush." Sakura's reply was to smile sweetly as many ideas to fluster him popped into her mind. Boy, did he have it coming. She began to giggle in a maniacal sort of way, causing many of the surrounding couples to inch away in fear. Even Neji felt a bit uneasy.

"Yeah, okay." Sakura said. The moment was ruined when the song suddenly changed to a fast one. And, as we all know, there was no way in hell that Hyuuga Neji was going to dance anything like Lee.

He pulled away, but before he could turn to leave, Sakura grabbed his arm and planted a big kiss on his cheek. He felt the heat rise to his face again and couldn't help but notice a brief flicker of triumph pass over Sakura's face.

"Thanks for dancing with me, Neji-san." she said, bowing slightly.

He acknowledged her with a slight nod of his head and the usual 'Hn.' before she left. Standing stupidly in the crowd with one hand over the cheek she kissed, Neji stared at that pink head of hers as she left.

She's so… weird…he thought. As soon as that thought had entered his mind, the very spawn of weird made its appearance in the form of a heavily browed 19 year old clad in green spandex. Do I even have to tell you of whom I'm talking about? Thought so.

"Hyuuga-san!" Lee exclaimed, halting before the Neji dramatically, causing many of the surrounding people to stare.

"What do you want, Lee?" Neji asked, closing his eyes in irritation.

"You were dancing with my youthfully lovely flower, Sakura!" Lee replied, pointing a finger at Neji. "Your heart has also been blessed with the spring of youth! We are now eternal rivals in love, my youthful friend!" Lee continued on like this for a time that is unknown to Neji, for he had left about half-way through the speech.

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Author's note: Ugh. Chapter 1. Not too happy with it, but whatever. It turned out okay. Tell me what you think of it. For those of you who were reading 'Kakashi, you perverted BASTARD!' and were wondering about the hold up, lets just say the world has done every possible thing from writers block to computer crashing in order to keep me from posting it. I was actually done with it, but alas, my computer chose that time to die. NOOOOOO! Now I have to re-write it, meaning its going to take even longer.