Note: Hey there, this is my firstNaruto fanfiction. I do hope that I managed to make the characters believable and not too 'out of character'. If there are any mistakes with the specific terms or anything else, please tell me so that I can learn from my mistakes. I hope you enjoy the first chapter!
Chapter 1: The plan is in motion.
Sakura looked at herself in the mirror and realized fully how different she looked compared to her twelve year old self. It had been six years since Sasuke left and a lot has changed in Konoha. She was now one of the most respected medic nin in the village, Naruto and Ino had become her best friends and he and Hinata had finally gotten together after she set them up intentionally. She now understood the true strength in Naruto; to her, he was no longer immature and childish. And last year, her father had passed away, living her alone in this world. Thankfully, Tsunade was always there to watch out for her.
Now, she was eighteen years old and she had grown a lot taller, Ino was getting a bit annoyed at her for that but they no longer fought like before anymore. The name calling was still there, that was a habit they could not change. Sakura had also just passed the Jounin exams recently and she was proud of herself. Now that she thought of it, she was really immature and weak back then.
She was the young, silly girl who got distracted by superficial things, so much so that she didn't see the real hatred and coldness in the youngest Uchiha. The memory of him still haunted her and she did not know why. She had grown a lot and she should not be thinking of him anymore and yet he popped up in her mind every now and then.
She tried hard to change herself. She no longer wore her red ninja outfit, she opted for simple black shirt and pants instead. Her hair had grown longer but she will never let it grow past her shoulder. She still smiles, but she will never be as hyper and naïve as before.
She was now the responsible and outstanding head medic nin in Konoha hospital, she no longer wanted to be who she was before.
She enjoyed her job and yet these days, she began to dread waking up in the morning and going to the hospital.
She dreaded bumping into and looking into the hypnotic silver eyes of a certain Hyuuga who seemed to appear in the hospital often due to his injuries from his dangerous Anbu missions.
Hyuuga Neji was now nineteen years old and an Anbu captain. He had changed over the years as well; he was not as selfish and egotistical as before. But, he still didn't say much.
It was two years ago when she had first treated him at the hospital. He was still Jounin then and was suffering greatly from his injuries. Sakura and the other medic nins healed him but he stayed in the hospital for quite a while for his body to fully recover.
He was a pain in the ass.
There was forever a scowl on his face and he could simply intimidate someone just by turning their eyes on them. He was silent but the aura vibrating off him spoke loud enough for everyone to feel. He couldn't stand being in a hospital and he wanted to get out. However, the pride in him stopped him from speaking his mind and behaving like a child. So he remained silent and frowning.
Although he won't speak, he gave the nurses and the doctors enough trouble without opening his mouth. He would make them extremely uncomfortable when they came to check on him by refusing to co-operate with them. He made sure his message was clear.
When Sakura first entered his room, her hand was trembling before she twisted the door knob. It was her first time being given check up duty and the other medics had given her the job that they all did not want: Checking up on Hyuuga Neji, changing his bandages and to give him any other needed medical attention.
Then, she saw Hyuuga Neji and breathed a sigh of relief. He seemed to be asleep.
The inner Sakura punched into the air for the good luck. If he doesn't wake up, everything will be fine!
She approached Neji with as much care as possible, she didn't want to wake him up. Just when she was about to touch his bandaged arm, a deep, eerie male voice spoke.
"Don't touch me."
Sakura's heart almost jumped out of her chest when she heard that and she froze pathetically in front of him when he turned his eyes on her. And just like they say, he was scowling the most frightening scowl she had ever seen. She ran out of the room as fast as she could, slamming the door behind her.
Her heart was still hammering as her body slide down the door; she could not believe that Neji still had that 'scaring' effect on her, he was even more scary than before. Sakura stood up slowly and forced her heart to calm down. Yes, it was true that he used to scare her, but now she was different, she was stronger and she had matured, she should not be afraid of him anymore. Plus, she had a job to do here. Tsunade-sama had trusted her enough to let her train here and she must prove that she could handle it. After all, that was all the intensive medical training was for. She was not about to fail her shishou now. No matter how intimidating Neji could be, she would not let him bring her down like this.
Taking a deep breath, Sakura opened the door again.
Neji was sitting up on his bed, completely ignoring her presence. His face was turned away from her but she was sure that he knew that it was her. He was just refusing to acknowledge her.
Sakura felt the anger rising in her but she smiled it away forcefully. Patience! Patience!
"Good morning, Hyuuga-san." She said neutrally, approaching his bed.
She set down her medical supplies on the table beside the bed and sat on a chair beside it. She reached out to take his bandaged arm again and he moved his arm away from her, glaring at her fiercely, daring her not to come any closer.
Sakura stood up and pulled his arm over to her, causing Neji to groan out in pain.
"That is what will happen if you don't co-operate with us, Hyuuga-san," Sakura spoke softly, unwinding his bandages from his arm. "I will have to force you to change your bandages and I would personally hate to cause you any pain like that just now. I am just here to take care of you, really. So don't make my job any more difficult for me."
Neji continued to glare at her but he did not speak a word. He just watched her cleaned his wounds, apply them with the appropriate medicine and putting new bandages around them. Once she was done, he watched her put her palms on his injured arm and saw her charka flowing out of them, and he felt the stinging pain going away.
He stayed silent the whole time while she tended to his other wounds and neither did she say a word.
Once she was done, she turned to him and spoke in the same soft tones, "Is there anything else that I can do for you?"
Silence and a deeper frown from Neji.
Sakura smiled at him. He was acting like a small child throwing a tantrum!
"I guessed that is a 'No', huh?" she said, "Well then, I will be in charge of taking care of your wounds from now on, so prepare to see my annoying face popping in here everyday."
"They are letting me to be your guinea pig?" he asked coldly.
Sakura almost snapped at him but she stopped herself just in time. She closed her eyes before sighing dramatically.
"Yes!" she exclaimed, "Isn't it tragic? Let's just hope that I don't mess up!"
Then, she shot out of the room with as much speed as before, this time bursting into uncontrollable giggles. She had not only stood up for herself in front of Neji, she managed to mock at him as well. She couldn't stop smiling. Neji did not know that she was the one who healed him, he did not know about how much she had changed.
And no one had seen this coming. Not even Sakura herself. Over the four years of treating Neji's wounds frequently at the hospital, she had grown attached to him and was beginning to feel a bit more than that of friendship for him. The face of Sasuke in her head was slowly fading as the feelings she had for Neji grew stronger. Sakura did not like having these new feelings because she knew that she was in for another heartbreak and she was confused. No matter how fast the memory of Sasuke was fading, there were still times where she imagined the day he would come back.
The friendship between her and Neji took a long time to built and she was not about to ruin it because she wanted to pursue an infatuation for him. Now, he no longer glared at her or looked at her threateningly but he still doesn't speak much. Occasionally, they will talk and Sakura like the sound of his voice when it was not menacing. His voice made her think of deep brown chocolate and just the sight of him made her heart beat a little faster.
When he wasn't frowning, he was very pleasant to look at. He was tall, a head taller than her and she was always dying to touch his smooth, long brown hair. Sakura never did though, she couldn't imagine how Neji would react if she ever did that. His body was strong and lean and he was as handsome as ever. More ever so since the first time she healed him at the hospital. Sometimes, he would give her honest and helpful advice when she chattered on about the things happening around her and Sakura appreciated him for it. The first time he offered his advice was when she was complaining about a male medic nin who kept making advances on her and she didn't know how to get rid of him.
She was just blabbering on and on and she didn't even care if he was listening because she needed to let the steam out and the male medic nin was getting too touchy and suggestive. When she finished giving her angry speech, he looked at her straight in the eye and calmly said, "Next time he do that to you, nail him in the groin. There is no need to hold back here. I always thought you have a temper."
Sakura was so shocked that her jaw dropped to the ground and when she finally stopped gaping like a fish, she shook her head to check if she was hallucinating.
"No, you are not hallucinating." Neji said, "I did say 'nail him in the groin'."
Sakura stared at him and just nodded dumbly. "Okay, I will do that next time." She didn't tell him that she was actually shocked at the fact that he spoke and that he was listening and that he thought enough to offer her advice!
But it was his nightmares and headaches that brought them even closer. One night, when she was on night duty at the hospital, she heard noises from the infamous room 485 that Hyuuga Neji was staying at and she decided to check up on him. The room was dark and he was twisting and turning on his bed, mumbling to himself and those noises sounded like cries for help although she couldn't catch what he was really saying. He was also sweating and his forehead was more warm than usual. She saw a very different Hyuuga Neji that night and immediately she felt the need to comfort him and protect him.
She sat down on the bed next to him and put her hands firmly on his moving shoulders, trying to soothe him.
"Don't worry, Neji. I'm here." She whispered.
She drenched a small towel with water in a bowl on the table next to her and began to wipe at Neji's forehead caringly. Her mother instincts kicked in and soon she found herself smoothing her hands through Neji's rich long hair. Just like she thought, his hair was so thick and smooth. Soon, Neji seemed to have calmed down and stopped turning around on his bed. Sakura repeatedly wiped his forehead with the wet towel and she applied chakra to his temple points to ease his headache. After a while, the heat at his forehead had gone away and he was sleeping peacefully. Sakura smiled happily and kissed his forehead gently before leaving the room.
The next morning, she wasn't the one checking up on Neji because her chakra was drained out of her before her shift with Neji. She had wanted to continue working and just as she was telling the head medic that she was fine and that she can handle it, she collapsed and was found deep in sleep on the floor. In the end, someone else took over her shift and Neji had a different medic nin to take care of him that day.
And now, several years later she still see him frequently at the hospital and by some chance, she was always assigned as his medic nin. She kept telling her colleagues that he wasn't as difficult as before but they wouldn't believe her.
And today, present day, Sakura had Hyuuga Neji on top of her list again. She arrived at the hospital and was immediately given her updated list of patients. He had checked in last night and had just returned from yet another dangerous mission. He had been gone for fivemonths for this mission and it was the longest in time that Sakura did not get to see Neji. Sometimes he just comes in with minor injuries and wounds but this time, it was another one of those twisted injuries and Sakura was beginning to worry for him. It was true that he was one of the strongest shinobi in the village, but she knew that due to his stubborn self and immense responsibility he always sacrifice himself for others.
When she stepped into his room in her professional white coat, she scowled at the sight of him and watched him raised his eyebrows in question of her scowl. She was glad that she wasn't on duty last night, or else she would be the one seeing him all bloodied and wounded. There were bandages on his face, his legs and his chest.
She went to sit next to him and touched his forehead gently, not noticing the faint blush on his cheeks.
"Why do you always strain yourself so, Hyuuga-san?" she asked. "Almost no one else from the Anbu comes in as frequently as you and with such injuries. I'm worried about you."
Neji just looked at her and she sighed at him for the silence.
"All right. Any pains?" she asked.
He shook his head.
"Headaches or discomfort?"
He shook his head again.
Sakura nodded understandingly at him and stood up from her seat. "I'll come back and change your bandages later, Hyuuga-san. Rest well."
She smiled warmly at him and went out quietly, shutting the door behind her.
Neji couldn't believe how idiotic he was. When she walked into the room just now, he almost felt his heart lift into the heavens. Was it really that long since he last saw her? She had lost weight, her face was thinner than before. She also looked tired but her smile was still the same. So warm and peaceful, making him felt so safe at heart. But he was so stupid and tongue-tied that he couldn't even say a thing to her. Since when had the great Hyuuga Neji succumbed to such a state?
He knew very well now that he liked the girl. More than like, actually. He was falling hopelessly in love with Haruno Sakura and before he realized it, it was already too late to correct. She was special and she was different. She had changed and she was the first girl who stood up to him and expressed her piece of mind without wavering at all.
He remembered the time where he was chuckling to himself when she ran out of his room in shock the first time she came to check up on him two years ago. He didn't know that he would frighten the pink haired girl so much. Then, she came in again and he saw her fake smile even though his head was turned away from hers. He was surprised at how she held onto her place and how calmed and professional she was. When she spoke to him, he could not even detect anger in her voice. It was like as if she couldn't care less. And that extreme dramatic act before she dashed out of his room left him stunned and confused. He had felt like laughing but he restrained himself. He was supposed to be angry at her, not amused.
He had really thought that he was her guinea pig. He didn't know that Sakura had been working in the hospital for quite a while and that she had her fair share of practice on patients. The fifth Hokage came in to visit him that very same day and he demanded of her why he was being taken care of by the inexperienced Haruno girl.
The blond woman had laughed heartily at him and after her laughter subsided, she told him in her booming voice that he was not to think so lowly of her precious apprentice and that he was lucky to have her to take care of him.
"Together with the other medic nins, she drained out all of her chakra to heal you, Hyuuga. She was the medic nin in charge of your operation. Only that you are too beaten up to realize this, huh?"
She laughed again and breezed out of his room, leaving Neji in confusion.
Haruno Sakura was the medic nin in charge of his operation?
And he had mocked at her, saying that he was her guinea pig, Neji felt another headache coming on just at the thought of him making such a fool of himself. He felt bad for being so mean to her but yet he could find no words to say to her the next time she came to check on him in his room.
From then on, he saw her in a different light. It was like the clouds had lifted and the Haruno Sakura in front of him was someone he had never seen before. She seemed to have put behind their first awkward encounter and every time she came in, she would be calm and gentle. Yet, he saw a hidden strength in her and she was nice to him all the time. And just the sound of her voice make him feel better. He had never noticed how extraordinary her pink hair was, the colour itself was a miracle. It was a heavenly colour and together with her deep, soulful green eyes, she was breathtaking. Neji decided that she was an angel without wings.
And soon, he discovered that she was also an angel with limited patience when it comes to annoying people. There were times where her anger was on a short fuse and there were times where she was actually happy. He could read her so easily, her amazing eyes are windows to her thoughts and feelings. He noticed that she no longer smiled that hyper, eager smile that she usually did before. Her smiles now are gentle, calm and matured. They lacked a certain enthusiasm and Neji knew that it was because of a certain Uchiha. He knew that she used to be hopeless infatuated with the cold Sasuke and after he left the village, she was devastated. He didn't care then, but now he was very curious about Sakura's feelings for Uchiha Sasuke. What made him so irresistible to her? What made him so special that even six years after his desertion, she still couldn't forget about him?
Hyuuga's blood began to boil at the thought of Sakura so affected by another man. She never did get took the chance to go out with any other guys, although they were very eager in pursuing her. It was natural that she was so popular. She accomplished much for herself over the years and still, she had not think of settling down even though Shikamaru and Ino had gotten married a year ago and he knew very well that Hinata and Naruto are talking about wedding plans. Sakura seemed to have forgotten all about romance. She is still waiting for Uchiha Sasuke…
Unexpectedly, she was the first one who actually managed to make him feel better during one of his intense headaches and nightmares. He could not remember clearly but he did have the impression of someone wiping at his forehead and neck gently, cooling him down. He remembered the pain at his temples lessening and the touch of lips on his forehead. He only found out that it was her when she failed to appeared the next morning and he asked her replacement irritably who was the medic nin on duty last night. The frightened medic nin stammered that it was Haruno-sempai and then he demanded why she wasn't here this morning. It turned out that she had drained her chakra again in healing another ninja and had collapsed during their medic's meeting early that morning. He was irritated and worried that whole day.
She came in as usual the next morning, smiling at him warmly and immediately Neji scowled at her. He was annoyed that just the sight of her happy and well-rested made him so relieved and that he had became so attached to her that even the smallest of actions or sound from her affected him. She pretended that she didn't see his deep frown and proceeded in cleaning his wounds.
"You should stop draining your chakra like that all the time. It is dangerous." He told her.
Sakura looked up at him in surprise and Hyuuga felt his breath being caught up in his throat. Her eyes had captured his and he found himself not being able to look away. She smiled at him gratefully and continued putting on new bandages onto his arm.
From then on, they began talking occasionally and even if they didn't, a peaceful and tender silence was shared between them. Neji found himself smiling at that but he didn't know where their relationship was going or if it would go anywhere. Sakura obviously didn't have any romantic feelings for him and he was not used to this kind of situations. He had never taken this kind of interest in anyone before and he did not know what to do. He just hoped that no one that noticed that he had fallen in love with her, because he knew that he might have been a bit obvious with his affections. Well, at least he thought he was obvious…
For the past few years, he would intentionally show up at places where she would be. Like at the Ichiraku Ramen stall where she would usually welcome him to sit with her. This was the only time where he was grateful that Naruto was dating his cousin and that he won't be in the way. Not that he didn't like Naruto, he was a good guy, but he just seemed very careless and clumsy sometimes. He would always offer to pay for her meal and she always insisted that he doesn't.
"You don't have to do that Hyuuga-san! If you do that, you will make me feel very bad!" She exclaimed.
And so he never managed to do so. However, he didn't like the fact that she was still calling him 'Hyuuga-san'. They had known each other long enough and even he called her 'Sakura-san' but she was still stuck with his surname. Shouldn't she at least be calling him 'Neji-san' by now?
He knew very well that this wouldn't go anywhere unless he made his intentions known. Sakura almost seemed blind to any man's romantic interest in her and he didn't know how he will ever let her know if he continued like this.
It was a good thing that there was no threat to him now, or else he would be forced to do drastic actions.
Neji sighed, what should he do?
Sakura was on her way to Tsunade's office, thinking about her interaction with Neji today. He was unusually quiet this time round. When she went back later to change his bandages, he still remained silent when she tried to strike up a conversation with him. He didn't exactly look annoyed at her, but he was silent and Sakura was beginning to fear that maybe Neji may think that she was annoying as well. Or maybe he was still in a daze after completing that mission, Sakura comforted herself. All the members in the mission returned alive, although with quite serious injuries, they will heal soon enough.
Tsunade had called her away from the hospital especially today and Sakura wondered what her shishou wanted.
She arrived at the building and walked straight to Tsunade's office, knocking politely on the door.
Shizune opened the door for her and Sakura smiled at her gratefully. "Thank you, Shizune."
After several years training under Tsunade, Sakura had grown close to Shizune, she was like an elder sister to her, and she was there to watch out for her when Tsunade wasn't around.
Tsunade was sitting behind her desk with numerous scrolls surrounding her and she motioned for Sakura to sit down in front of her without looking up from her work. Shizune smiled at Sakura and disappeared off to do her own work.
Sakura sat there patiently and waited for her shishou to pay attention to her. She had been with her Tsunade for so long that she knew almost all her quirks.
Tsunade finally looked up from her scrolls and smiled at Sakura sweetly.
Uh-oh. This is not good. Sakura thought.
"All right," Sakura said, "what is it that you want me to do? And I know that it is nothing good because I can see that from the suspicious smile on your face."
Tsunade laughed. "Good that you know that it is nothing good, Sakura. But it is not bad either. I need you to do something, and since I'm your guardian now, you have to listen to me."
Sakura's right eyebrow twitched when she heard '…you have to listen to me'. This was the only time where she felt like she made a mistake when she agreed for her shishou to become her guardian after her father died.
"But I am eighteen this year, aren't I old enough to not to listen to you?" Sakura challenged.
Tsunade smiled wickedly at her. "You're not eighteen yet, Sakura. Not until your birthday. So now, listen to what I want you to do."
Sakura sighed and settled herself more comfortably into her seat, prepared to listen to whatever mischief her shishou was up to.
"You'll be an adult soon, Sakura." Tsunade began, "And like a mother who cares for the well being of her daughter, I would like you to start dating and hopefully get married one day and have kids."
Sakura's eyes widened and there was a pause of silence. Then, Sakura's uncontrollable laughter was heard. "You must be joking, shishou!"
"I'm not joking, Sakura." Tsunade said.
Sakura continued laughing. "You know very well that I'm not interested in that. I don't have time, anyway!"
"Now, that is an excuse." Tsunade said, a frown forming on her face. "And I don't want to hear excuses from you, Sakura. You know very well that you have been blowing all the guys off and that will not do. Some of them are good guys."
Sakura stopped laughing. What Tsunade said was true. Ever since Sasuke, she concentrated only and solely on her training and becoming stronger. She blocked out any thought of having a relationship with anyone. And when she finally begin to feel something more than friendship for someone, that person turned out to be the other ice cube of Konoha, Hyuuga Neji. Why did she have to fall for guys like that all the time?
"You have been working very hard over the years, Sakura and I am proud of you. Your medical skills are top-notch and you've become one of the most outstanding ninjas of Konoha. And you spend most of your time at the hospital-"
"No I do not!" Sakura protested.
Tsunade shook her head at her. "There is no use denying it, Sakura. I'm Hokage for a reason, I know what you do with your time. You spend most of your time at the hospital, or training to become stronger and only very rarely you would join your friends for an outing. Don't you feel lonely?"
Sakura shook her head. "I have friends, I have you and I have my work. Why should I be lonely?" Sakura knew that she was lying, she was actually lonely to the core, but she would never admit it. After Ino got married, Sakura was seeing less and less of her best friend and Naruto needed time for Hinata as well. Sakura looked at the blonde woman in front of her and she knew that Tsunade knew that she was lying as well.
Tsunade sighed. "Whatever you say, Sakura. I'm now taking the matter in my hands, and you will have no say in it. Now, let me ask you, do you have anyone in mind that you would like to be married to?"
The image of Neji appeared in Sakura's mind immediately but she knew that she couldn't possibly tell her shishou that. Who knows what her crazy teacher might do. So she shook her head firmly. "No."
"All right," Tsunade said, "I will pick out a few suitors for you and you will go on dates with them and from there we will see, okay?"
"No, it is not okay!" Sakura exclaimed. "Like you say, I'm not even eighteen yet, I'm still young. What's the rush? I can perfectly find a man on my own!"
Tsunade scoffed. "Right. And wait for the Uchiha to come back?"
Sakura stiffened. "I'm not waiting for him."
Tsunade's tone softened and she went to where Sakura was sitting to give her a hug. "I don't mean to sound harsh, Sakura. I'm worried about you and you've changed more than you know. You have to let him go, Sakura, he is causing too much damage on you."
Sakura looked up at Tsunade and felt tears gathering in her eyes. "Shishou…"
"I want to let you know that it is okay to be weak sometimes. It is okay to appear vulnerable sometimes, it is okay to let other people in. And most of all, it is okay for that hyper, eager smile to graze your face again. I like that smile, Sakura. It is not a form of weakness, believe me."
Sakura nodded and smiled weakly at Tsunade.
"So is it okay if we go along with this plan of mine?" Tsunade asked. "I would like you to start living again and to have fun in life."
"Okay." Sakura agreed. "I think I need to move on too." The memory of Sasuke had plagued her long enough and being infatuated with Neji didn't help either. Maybe what Tsunade suggested was what she needed.
Tsunade smiled at her. "I'll let you know when the list of suitors is drawn up, you can go back to the hospital now."
Sakura got up from her seat and smiled at Tsunade again. "Thank you, shishou."
"Did it work?" Shizune asked Tsunade once Sakura was out of sight.
Tsunade nodded, a mischievous smirk on her face.
Shizune frowned. "Are you sure it is a good idea? How about Hyuuga Neji?"
Tsunade laughed. "That ice cube would never make a move unless something unexpected happens. It is obvious that he is in love with Sakura, even the stupid fox Naruto noticed. I even put him under Sakura's care every time he checks in the hospital for injuries. The idiot still hasn't made a move. I have to do something."
"So, what are you going to do now?"
"Have a list of suitors drawn up by me, Naruto and Ino and intentionally excluding Neji from it."
Shizune whistled. "Smart."
Tsunade smirked, she was already writing a note to both Ino and Naruto, telling them that the plan was in action.
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