Cursed

Chapter Seven

Cursed Mark

Neji had been surprised once he finally came back to his senses after kissing her. When Neji had taken off his mask the thought had never occurred to him that his cursed mark was there for her to see. His headband didn't cover it; naturally he didn't bring it with him. And he didn't wear his bandages that covered it either.

Sakura was the only person besides his family that had ever seen the mark. The only one… And she didn't even look at it. In fact, Neji had a suspicion that she was so 'preoccupied' that she didn't even know it was there.

Turning slightly to look at said girl, he saw she was looking around a bit nervously. Smiling, Neji squeezed her tiny hand in reassurance. She turned and gave him a rather big smile.

'I wonder what she would do if she saw it.' He thought, his smile quickly coming off of his face. She would be disgusted. His shoulders drooped slightly as he glanced once more at the girl. He let go of her hand then, causing Sakura to look surprised.

He shrugged his shoulders lightly. "We have to act like you're a prisoner." Was his explanation as he stopped talking to look at her. Gently, he grabbed her hands and put the handcuffs back on.

Sighing a bit, Neji started to lead her. He led her into the weapon's room which she had spotted earlier that day. Neji walked up and grabbed several kunai's, shurikens and several other weapons. He then walked to Sakura carrying two packs. "I don't like the idea of you being unarmed." He mumbled as he bent down on one knee before her.

Without thinking too much about it, Neji lifted her white skirt knowing that she wore shorts beneath it. Gently he strapped the pack onto her leg, his fingers brushing against her pale skin. He did the same to the other before he stood up. "Just make sure your skirt hides it." Neji commented, his voice quiet. Sakura nodded her head slightly. The packs were so small and so high up on her legs that the skirt hid them perfectly. It also helped that the packs of weapons were black, which blended in perfectly with her black shorts.

Neji had always been a bit on the colder side. But after he had kissed her she would have expected him to be a bit nicer.

Neji sighed then and sat down in an empty chair. "I was wondering if you could tend to a wound that I got." He said, his masked face looking at her.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly and she crossed the room quickly. "Of course. Where is it?" Neji didn't say a word; instead he started to take his shirt off. Sakura blushed brightly as he revealed his firm chest and stomach to her.

She would have looked away, embarrassed if it wasn't for the wound on his chest. Slowly she brought her fingers up, letting it run across his wound in the same fashion that Neji had done to her own wound. Slowly, she encased her hand in chakra and touched her hand to his wound, her mind focusing only on healing him.

Slowly she started to stitch his wound together with her chakra and fix around the inside of his skin where it was torn. It didn't take too long and she finished it rather quickly. As she sat back to look at her work, she looked at his face. His masked face, that is.

Frowning, Sakura brought her hand up to take the mask off, but Neji caught her wrist before it got too close. Blinking, Sakura looked at him. "You should take it off." She said, her voice showing her confusion.

'So, she hasn't noticed.' Neji thought. "I would rather keep it on for now." He said, completely waving her comment off as he stood up, his strong hands grabbing his shirt. Turning his muscular back to her he started to pull his shirt on. Neji knew he was being cold with her. But they did say that old habits die hard. Without any covering of his mark, he would prefer her to not see his face.

Sighing slightly, Neji turned to look at Sakura before he sat back down, his brow furrowing at the look displayed on her face. She was trying to hide it, but you didn't have to be a master at reading people like Neji was to see her thoughts. His eyes could see that she looked slightly hurt; her brow was knit together in confusion. The way she was playing with her fingers also showed her nervousness.

"Sakura." He only said her name as he brought his gloved hand up to touch her cheek softly. Her jaded eyes looked at him with a mixture of emotions.

"Do you not want to show your face because of…" She stopped suddenly, her eyes showing her uncertainty as she looked away from him. "Your mark?" The last part of the sentence came out in nothing but a whisper. She doubted he had even heard her.

But when he took his hand away from her rather quickly, she realized he had heard her and was probably upset with her. Biting on her lower lip, Sakura turned worried eyes towards his masked face. She imagined he was scowling right now.

And she was right. Adorned on his pale face was a scowl. "How would you even know about that cursed thing?" He asked gruffer then he had meant to. 'So she did see it.' He thought as his body tensed for her to reject him.

Slowly, Sakura looked down, her teeth nibbling on the flesh of her bottom lip. "Naruto told me." She whispered feeling like a young child telling their dad that they stole a cookie from the cookie jar.

His scowl deepened. "Naruto." It came out as a growl. He had told Naruto about his mark. But he hadn't actually shown it to him. Now he regretted ever saying such a cursed thing existed.

Slowly, Sakura peeked up at him from beneath her eyelashes. She wasn't quite sure what to say to him as the silence started to ring all around them. Sakura tensed herself for what she was about to do, though she had to wonder if he would even let her.

She reached her slender hand out towards his mask again. Her long fingers grasped the rough edge as she slowly started to tug. He didn't stop her this time, Sakura noticed. But she also noticed his body tensing and his shoulders dropping slightly. 'Why is he so afraid of showing me?'

The mask was gently pulled away to show his face. Sakura looked at him intently, her eyes not looking at his mark just yet. Instead her eyes stayed intent on his own. Slowly the girl leaned forward. Her pink lips touched his. They were barely touching as she brushed her lips against his own in a soft massage.

Neji groaned slightly, his lips parting as his eyes closed. She continued to tease him, her lips brushing against his in a sensual manner, but at the same time she wasn't kissing him. Their lips were barely touching, a feather of a touch.

He felt her do it again. Neji wasn't one to be teased. Growling lightly, Neji leaned forward to capture her lips but she moved back, his ears caught the sound of a small giggle. His fingers started to inch up to grab her and force his lips on her, but then her lips were moving again. She was kissing his chin then. She slowly started to move to his cheek, kissing a trail to it.

Sakura gently placed her hands on his shoulders as she kept trailing her kisses up from his cheek, leading to his forehead. She noticed he wasn't tense anymore.

She stopped her trail of kisses when she reached his forehead. Slowly, she backed away and opened her eyes to look at his green mark. She felt him tense beneath her fingers.

It wasn't nearly as bad as he made it out to be. It didn't even look like a cursed sign. To her, it almost looked like a work of art with how the end of the lines curved in elegancy. A soft smile came to her lips then. Slowly, she brought her index finger up and she started to lovingly trace the design. "You shouldn't hide yourself from me." She mumbled as she continued to trace it with a light touch.

Neji was staring at her in awe now. She didn't reject him. She knew what this mark meant but she was still there. Smiling slightly, Neji wrapped his arms about her little waist and closed his eyes, letting her continue.

Sakura smiled upon feeling his relaxed body against her. She leaned forward then and gave a chaste kiss to his mark. Wrapping her lithe arms around his shoulders, Sakura leaned into him and laid her head on top of his.

They stayed like that for several long minuets.

"This… doesn't look right, Neji." Sakura said with uncertainty as she pulled at the hem of her shirt.

Neji rolled his eyes and walked up to her, straightening her outfit to fit her better. "You look fine. This should at least get us past the gate. We'll be pursued though so we have to be quick." Neji said, his tone sounding mostly business.

Sakura had jumped a guard to get these clothes. Unfortunately for her the only one near them happened to have been a man of a great size. Neji had gone up to him to distract him. He had talked to the guard about Orochimaru and what he was like. While he was keeping the guard busy, Sakura had snuck up behind him. One punch later and the man was knocked out.

Sakura sighed in aggravation as she tried to look as presentable as possible. "So, this is how you got in here?" Neji nodded his head.

"I needed a cover. I was lucky enough to attack a guard before he even reached here so nobody suspected a thing." Neji said as he scanned through the walls with his byakugan.

Sakura sighed and nodded her head. "Do you think Ino and Lee made it back?" Sakura asked with uncertainty. After their cuddle session, Sakura had asked exactly what had happened. Neji had replied saying that he sent Ino and Lee to finish the mission then go back to inform Tsunade-sama what had happened and he stayed behind to retrieve her.

"I'm sure they are fine." Neji said without too much thought. Turning, he looked at the girl who was still fidgeting before him. She was nervous. Neji walked up to her then, placing both hands on her shoulders he watched her intently. "You shouldn't be so nervous. I'll be with you so if we run into any trouble. I'll protect you." He knew she didn't need it, but he hoped that the reassurance that he was there would be enough to calm her.

Sakura's face broke out into a smile. "I know." She whispered lightly. Looking unsure, Sakura stood on the tips of her toes and pressed her lips against his in a chaste kiss. Blushing, Sakura fell back to her normal height and started to act like she was doing something important to keep from looking at him. That important thing being twirling her hair around her finger and staring at her shoes.

Smirking at her embarrassment, Neji leaned down and forced her to look at him. Neji then pressed his lips against hers. He was rewarded with a small squeak from the girl right before she shuddered in his arms.

Slowly, Sakura snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She didn't pull away when he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, or even when he placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her closer into him to deepen the kiss. And she most certainly wasn't going to pull away when she felt his tongue licking her lips wanting entrance.

She opened her mouth willingly, her cheeks staining a bright red color as his tongue ran across her open lips before he delved it into her mouth. A small moan came from Sakura's throat as she clung to him then. Her knees felt weak suddenly as he kissed her ferociously.

'Heaven.' Was the only intelligent thought that Neji could think of at that moment in his hazy mind. He had been yearning to kiss her since she had teased his lips with her feathered touch. He was actually surprised he hadn't just thrown her on the floor and claimed her lips the moment she did it. That little innocent teasing touch had unlocked something inside of him that he had never felt before. He had wanted her badly in that moment. Though their cuddling after was nice, it wasn't what his body wanted.

Neji pressed her little body even closer to his and she tightened her arms around him. They stayed in this position kissing each other passionately for a few minuets before they both separated, their mouths opened as they gasped for air.

One looked completely satisfied and slightly smug from getting what he wanted, while the other looked away in embarrassment, her cheeks flaming a bright red color.

Smirking, Neji grabbed her hand and pulled her forward quickly. Giving her a quick kiss, Neji felt his ego swell as she blushed once more. Grinning, he kept his hand in hers as he led her away, his other hand going for his mask.

Slowly, Sakura's blushes disappeared as she grew serious. It was now or never, it seemed.

Choked gasps were heard as Sakura pounded her fist into the ground, tears leaked through her tightly closed eyes as she pounded harder. Pink lips were wide open as they tried to desperately gasp for air but all came out was a choking sound. Moments later though, she was finally breathing in extremely shallow breathes as she coughed water out of her system.

Shaking, Sakura fell down on the ground then, her listless eyes looking to her side to see Neji on his knees regaining his own breath as well.

"Good idea, Sherlock." Sakura whispered, her voice deep as she took in all of the air she could. Grumbling something Neji stood up and then helped her up as well.

"It was our only choice." Was his gruff reply as they started running through the trees, heading towards the west as they knew it would take them to Konoha.

Sakura growled lightly, her hair dripping wet as they ran. They had almost made it out of Orochimaru's place. But they had been stopped moments before they were to completely set foot out and off of his property. Sasuke had seen through them easily. He had brought his weapon out to attack them. They both got in their fighting stances ready to do battle.

The battle had started off in Neji and Sakura's favor, it being two against one. They were slowly beating Sasuke. But the situation that they thought they had under control was turned around quickly on them when Orochimaru appeared long with Kabuto who healed Sasuke on the spot.

They didn't have a choice but to flee. Neji had wrapped his arm around Sakura's waist the moment that Sasuke's healing began and started to run. They had kept running knowing the others would be following soon until they got to a cliff.

Much to Sakura's anger, Neji pushed her off of the cliff before jumping in himself. Sakura was livid in that moment when the ice cold water hit her back as she landed not too gracefully in the water. The tide had taken them rather quickly down and far away from the evil men. By the time they had reached the cliff Sakura and Neji were already long gone.

Sakura scowled once more at the memory, her green hues shooting a glare at Neji who was either ignoring her, or didn't notice. She suspected the first.

They continued traveling in silence; their only thought was to get home and away from trouble. Luckily or unlucky for them, Sakura couldn't decide which, Orochimaru's secret base wasn't very far from Konoha. Suspicion arose in Sakura when Neji had told her this. With him being so close to home, she was sure he had a plan to harm Konoha or the people living in it.

Dark high-heeled shoes tapped against the brown titled floor. Red lips parted as the young looking Hokage sighed in annoyance. Brown eyes narrowed as she continued to pace in her office. 'Where are they?' The annoyed thought came to her.

Neji and Sakura should have been back by now. Tsunade was beside herself with worry. She knew she had always been a bit harsh with Sakura, particularly with her training, but she cared for the girl as if she was her own daughter.

So when Ino and Lee had come back slightly wounded and with no pink-headed girl in sight, she had felt motherly worry seeping into her chest and spreading all around her body.

It had been five days since the two came back. Being as worried as she was, Tsunade refused to do more paperwork then what was needed. Putting aside that she always did that for the hate of paperwork, she was truly worried.

When a Jounin shinobi came into her office announcing the two had returned but were in the hospital she had all but ran there to see her favorite apprentice.

Sakura winced slightly, one bright green eye closing in pain as the nurse dabbed alcohol onto her bruised wrist.

"My! This is quite a bruise! How did you get it?" The nurse asked, her voice gentle as she looked at Sakura.

Frowning somewhat, Sakura gave a small glare towards the black haired Hyuuga that was lying in the bed next to hers. "I wonder."

Smirking slightly, Neji looked to her with a raised brow. He looked quite arrogant, but his looks were always deceiving. Neji felt a small pang of guilt in his heart at the bruise. He had given her that when he pinned her against the wall. Of course, at the time he was only trying to make sure she didn't kill him. Sometimes, that girl really scared him with how powerful her punches were. He made a mental note to never cross the pink haired kunoichi.

Sakura turned her head away from Neji when it became apparent that he wasn't going to say anything, with a small sigh she tested her wrist, wiggling it slightly. It was wrapped in white bandages. It didn't hurt and it didn't limit her ability to move it, but she could tell already that it was going to be a nuisance to keep up with.

Sighing lightly, Sakura sank deep into her covers, her pink silky hair arrayed around her head on the pillow. With a small yawn she closed her eyes. Since she had been captured she hadn't slept much.

Neji's white eyes watched her with interest as she started to drift off sleep. He almost couldn't believe that they had managed to make it back home without any serious injuries. Smiling slightly, Neji pulled the covers up to his shoulders as well, planning for sleep.

The two slept well into the night, and neither of them noticed when a blonde haired woman peeked into the room, a small relieved smile on her face when she saw that they were both alright and sleeping. With a quick look at both of their medical charts, Tsunade turned on her heel and walked out of the room, leaving the two to rest in peace.

Shadows fell onto the floor, some splayed onto the wall and even onto the unmoving form of Sakura's lithe body wrapped in the covers. The room was for the most part completely dark save for the small flashes of light that were coming from the windows.

Squeezing her eyes shut tightly, Sakura sleepily reached for her covers with one slender hand and yanked them up over her head. This move effectively blocked the view of lighting, but it did nothing to stop the loud booms of thunder.

Slowly, pink lips pouted slightly in annoyance as she opened one eye, her hands tugging the covers off of her head. Sighing, she sat up in bed, the covers now wrapped around her slender legs. Yawning, she ran her long fingers through her hair in an attempt to make it neater, though in the end it made it even messier.

Grumbling slightly, Sakura slung her legs over the edge of the bed as she started to rub at her tired filled eyes. Sighing, she let her hands drop to her side. Turning her head to the side, sleepy eyes read the nearby clock. '2:00am.' She thought as she glared at it as if it was the clocks fault for waking her up.

Sighing, Sakura looked to the bed that was next to hers. The only thing she could make out was a mixture of the white covers and the black hair that was Neji's.

Suddenly, her face lit up as a thought struck her. 'I wonder what he would do?' She asked herself with a mischievous smile. Slowly, Sakura stood up from her bed, her eyes not leaving his unmoving form. As silently as she could, Sakura made her way towards his bed.

Once she got to his bed, she stayed standing there, her green hues watching him intently. She could see the side of his face now. Even in sleep he really was a handsome man.

He was lying on his side; some of his shorter length of hair was touching his lips. His bangs now fell across his forehead. She imagined if his eyes were open the chocolate colored strands would be annoying him greatly right now. Her fingers itched to reach forward and move his bangs to the side.

But instead, Sakura slowly leaned her weight onto the mattress, her knees on the bed. She tried to be as quiet as possible as well as to make sure the bed didn't shift too much under her weight. Nibbling softly on her bottom lip, Sakura put her full weight on the bed, her hands placed on the mattress to steady herself.

She then slowly started to lower herself onto the bed. Once she was fully laid down, Sakura gave a soft smirk. She snuck into Hyuuga Neji's bed and he didn't even realize it!

Before Inner Sakura had a chance to shout out her victory for all to hear, Sakura felt a great deal of weight on top of her body as well as something holding her wrists. Blinking, Sakura gasped lightly as she adjusted her eyes to what was on her.

Smirking, Neji stared at the shocked girl beneath him. He was a Hyuuga. He knew she was up as soon as her feet had touched the floor. He stayed quiet though, playing the part of a sleeping person because his curiosity had peaked. It peaked even more when he felt her get into bed with him.

"What were you doing?" He asked, his voice low as he leaned closer to her.

Sakura's lips were slightly parted as she stared in shock. 'He wasn't asleep.' She thought somewhere in the haze of her mind. Right now she was a bit to preoccupied with his lips that were hovering dangerously close to hers.

"Hn?" Neji raised an eyebrow when he received no answer from her. She seemed too busy staring at his lips to answer him. Smirking, Neji dipped his head low and gave her a chaste kiss.

He had pulled back just slightly from the kiss, his eyes fluttering to look at hers. After seeing her look of want he dipped his head low again and captured her lips.

Long fingers left her tiny wrists to let one bury itself in her hair while the other gently ran up and down her sides in a sensual move. Moaning slightly, Sakura reached her hands up and hooked them behind his head.

When they finally parted minutes later, Sakura sighed in ecstasy. 'This is how it should always be.' She thought, completely content with how her life was now moving. Smiling lightly, Sakura realized this is how it would be. She was already hopelessly devoted to the man, and as far as she was concerned he was hers just as much as she belonged to him.

Murmuring in happiness, Sakura cuddled closer to the Hyuuga who wrapped his arms possessively around her. She placed one slender hand on his chest, her long fingers playfully tracing slow patterns as she thought. Vaguely she had to wonder why she never noticed this man back in her genin days. 'Sasuke.' Was the thought that came to her immediately. It was true, she was so preoccupied with the raven-haired boy that she had left Neji completely unnoticed. She had to wonder what would have become of them if she had given the proper chance to him.

Slowly, her pink lips turned into a smile. 'We would be married by now!' Sakura did everything in her power to not squeal out in girlish joy at that thought. She must have given some kind of sign though, because Neji was suddenly looking at her with a raised brow.

"Why do you look so happy?" He asked. Sakura just replied with a shrug of her shoulders and a grin.

"Just thinking about our future." She replied. Neji looked at her, seeming to read exactly what her thoughts had been as a gentle look came to his face. Slowly, he kissed her.

It seemed it was far too late for the both of them. They were already in love and unwillingly to let go. Which would prove to cause a lot of problems in the future with their families and society. But at this moment, Neji and Sakura could not care less. They were happy together, and that was all that mattered. Whatever obstacles came their way, they would surely overcome them.

AN: Well people.. That was it! That was the last chapter! I hope you liked it and yesh! I know certain things were left not solved, like why Orochimaru's base is so close, what happens to Sasuke.. But don't worry! I wrote this with the full intent of a sequal! XD!

At first I thought about just continuing this story and adding more chapters.. But I think it would be better to have a sequal, I can cover more ground with a sequal then I could with this, and that means more chapters! Plus, it gives me a chance to work on another story that my muse had been begging me to write! An Itachi and Sakura story! So look for it soon! And also look for a Naruto and Sakura story too! Mah muses have been bugging meh like crazy about that pairing! Also, if you guys have any ideas for any pairing or any of the pairings I just said, then mention it! Maybe I can work it into a story! .

Thank you everybody for staying with me and reading this story! It means so much to me! And I hope you continue to stay and read the sequal when it comes out .

Till next time!