Into the Woods

OK, sorry so long to update folks, but I was having angst issues. Mainly over the fact that this is the second to last chapter, and I couldn't make this or the next one to my liking. *sulks* I hate ending this story, I really do love it. But if I don't end it now, I can't start posting the sequel that I've been working on, and I'm dying to know what you guys think of it.

I'm sorry this one is so short, as I said...issues. But the conclusion will be up on thursday, and I'm including a nice juicy snippet of a teaser for "Into the Desert" in it, so that should make you guys happy. :)

*sniffles and skulks off to drink and cry herself into an oblivion w/chibi-kyubi*

~Teaser
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Sakura had gotten lucky today and was getting off of work early for a change. It was just a little before 4:30, so she decided to swing by and see if she could persuade Naruto into buying her dinner and finally getting to have that little “chat” with him she’d been meaning to since his return almost a month ago. Especially after getting some of the dirt off of Hinata last night at the party. ‘Poor Hinata-chan,’ she giggled to herself, ‘we were pretty demanding of her last night when she started to spill her guts about what happened. But she seemed to enjoy being the center of our gossip circle for a change, and we didn’t push her too hard.’ Sakura actually had to stop walking to try and keep from exploding in laughter when she pictured the two of them in the woods thinking the other had “forgotten” anything had happened between them. ‘You really are such an idiot sometimes, Naruto’ she told herself as she arrived at his apartment.

After discovering the place unoccupied at this current place in time, she began checking his usual haunts, getting more and more concerned as, time and again, she found them devoid of the obnoxious blonde. Ready to give up, she spotted that orange jacket hanging over the rail of the old bridge, and could see the top of his spiky head. She grinned and waved as she called out to him.

“Oi! There you are, Naruto! I thought I’d...” but she stopped as she finally got a good look at him. He was sitting on the planks, his legs dangling down just above the water, chin resting on hands that were propped on the middle beam of the railing. His face was pained, stray tears sliding slowly down whiskered cheeks to drip slowly down into the small canal below. He lifted his eyes to her at his name, and the look of anguish in them ripped at her heart. Sakura hurried to his side and collapsed to her knees, grabbing him gently by the shoulders.

“Naruto? Naruto what on earth is the matter? You look like someone died??” He turned to her slowly, not even bothering to wipe his face dry or pretend like she hadn’t caught him crying. Naruto looked her straight in the eye for a minute, tears welling up till he pulled her close and sobbed quietly on her shoulder. She had seen him cry before...hell almost everyone in the village has seen that. Naruto had never been one to be embarrassed about his emotional outbursts, so Sakura just held him close and stroked his hair till is started to calm down. She had a sneaking suspicion that this had something to do with Hinata’s family, and it would be best for her to let him get it out of his system before she tried to get anything rational out of or into him. Finally he seemed to get control of himself again, hiccuping softly from all the air he swallowed while choking back tears. “Better now?” she soothed, as he lifted himself off of her and began wiping at his face.

“For now...” he said meekly. “Thanks.”

“Wanna tell me what’s got my favorite ball of sunshine all depressed?” she asked softly, giving his arm a reassuring squeeze. “If you need someone killed, you know I got connections.” She smiled lightly at her tease, trying to coax one from him as well.

“We’ve been trying, but don’t seem to be getting anywhere with that...” was his vague reply. Naruto looked up to see the confusion in those bright green eyes and sighed. “Sakura-chan, I do have a favor to ask you though.”

She smiled again, “Sure hon! Ask and you shall receive. Heck, I might even agree to go out on a date with you....maybe.” Sakura winked at him on the last part, getting him to chuckle softly at her for a second before giving back over to that sad look again.

“Sakura-chan....I...I need you to help me pack.” His face was so gravely serious on this that she was taken aback, the smile sliding slowly from her lips.

“Ok...but where are you going? Do you have a mission? I thought you were going to be kept nearby for a little while longer?” He’d never asked her such a thing before. I mean, this was Naruto... he lived for missions! He was a well-trained shinobi, albeit an airheaded shinobi, but when it came to getting ready for one he always made sure he had enough equipment and supplies. It took them a while to explain to him he needed more along the lines of provisions then just cup ramen, but that was his only real problem. What’s up that he suddenly needs her help?

“ It’s...complicated...” he started, looking down at his hands. “I’m not allowed to say much...it’s for...training...” The boy sniffled loudly again, tears starting to well in his watery eyes again.

“Alright...” she replied slowly, the joints in her hands starting to ache as the dread seeped into her body. He was starting to scare her, but she couldn’t stop herself from asking her next question. “How long are you going to be gone for?” The pain in those stormy blue eyes griped her, squeezing her chest and making it hard to breath.

“I don’t know,” came the reply, a large tear sliding down his cheek. They stared at each other for a moment, Naruto watching the myriad of emotions playing across her face while Sakura waited for him to burst into laughter and taunt her over how well he tricked her. She blinked dumbly at him for a moment, trying to understand what he was trying to say.

“Wh...what do you mean you don’t know? They don’t just shove people out of the village on missions saying, “Alright, off ya go! Ya’ll come back now, ya hear!” They usually have some idea of a time frame...they must have told you something...right?” Panic welled up within her. ‘They couldn’t be doing this...this isn’t happening...it’s got to be some kind of joke, right? Please don’t leave me, Naruto...’

He sighed as another tear slid down his face. “I really don’t know, it’s not up to me. Could be a few months...could be a few years...”

“A FEW YEARS!?!?!” She interrupted, grabbing the front of his shirt and shaking him. He flinched lightly but made no effort to stop her from her rant. “THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!!! THAT’S INSANE!! YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE FOR A FEW YEARS!!! What about our Chuunin exam!?!? What about your friends!!?!!? What about Hinata!?!? What about...” she stopped shaking him, her lower lip trembling, eyes pleading. “What about me? You can’t just leave me here alone...I need you...” She was cut off as she found herself being wrapped up in a warm set of arms and pulled against his strong chest.

“I know,” he soothed, rubbing her back gently. “Just when things were starting to look up, ne?” He could feel the dampness starting to spread across his shirt. Naruto couldn’t hear her, but he knew she was starting to cry and he bit his lip as he tried to hold back his own tears. “We’re supposed to leave tomorrow just before sunrise. I really need your help tonight...I have no idea what I’m gonna need...and I need to find some way to get a message to Hinata...I don’t think her family is going to let her come see me off, and she has no idea yet.”

Sakura looked up, wiping her eyes gently. “You mean...you haven’t told her yet?” He shook his head. “Well...who have you told?”

“No one but you...I’m not really supposed to tell anyone but...” he chuckled softly and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. “I couldn’t just go and disappear on my two favorite girls like that.”

“You’re such an idiot.” Sakura said trying not to blush as she pushed herself upright and away from him, sniffling quietly but smiling to herself. ‘Saying such a thing...I have to get away from you before I do something we’re going to regret.’ Her stomach suddenly grumbled loudly, and she remembered why she had been looking for him in the first place. ‘Perfect timing.’ she thought gratefully to herself as she clapped her hands across her belly and blushed. They both burst out laughing when his growled back in reply a second later.

“Come on, Sakura-chan...lets go get some dinner. We can figure out how to get a hold of Hinata and you can help me pack up. You...are going to come help me, right?” He gave her a hopeful look, one that told her he didn’t want to be alone... he was afraid to be alone tonight. She nodded slowly with a wry grin.

“I’ll help, but only on one condition...” she giggled at the confused look he gave her in response. “Just what did you do that the Hyugas won’t let you see Hinata?” Naruto stammered, his cheeks flushing a deep crimson causing her to explode in laughter. “Oh? That good huh? Well then I suppose we’ll have dinner at your place so you can tell me all about it in excruciating detail.”

“I don’t think you want that much detail...” he muttered, grabbing his jacket as they got up to leave.

Sakura grinned mischievously back at him. “Just try me.”

~*~

Neji was not in a good mood as he made his way back through the village gates. As far as he was concerned, his mission had been a complete waste of his time and considerable skills. He was just glad it had only been a few villages over, and that he was back in time to deal with more important matters like...trying to decided what to do with Naruto’s body after he skinned him alive. Alright...maybe he wouldn’t skin him alive, but he definitely was going to put the fear of God, or at least the Hyuga clan in that thick, blonde skull of his.

Neji paused at the crossroads, trying decide what to do first. He should probably go home and see Hinata first, press her into telling him what on earth happened, and risk facing Hiashi’s wrath for not doing his duty to keep an eye on her. But at the same time he was sorely in need of a punching bag. And Naruto was the type that would probably not only give him the best chance to pound out his frustration, but wouldn’t mind a quick spar as well. He took after Lee that way - make him go to long without fighting or training and he goes nuts. In the end, he decided to go see Naruto first. Neji was just too worked up to deal with his family, and hounding the younger boy proved far to amusing to pass up at this time.

It was just after sunset as he approached the apartment, and the pale young man was pleased to see the lights on inside. Now that he was here, he wasn’t quite so angry with his friend. In fact he could almost sympathize with him. And knowing Hinata she had probably just fallen asleep innocently enough. ‘You had been starting to think maybe this was a good thing for her last night... and Naruto is honest almost to a fault... I’ll just scare him good, make sure he knows he has to play by the rules if this is going to continue.’ As the door got closer and he began to make up his mind, the sound of female laughter drifted out from an open window. Neji paused for a moment to take in the conversation.

“Oh my god.... you can’t be serious!!” That sounded like Sakura, and whatever she’s just been told still had her giggling hysterically. He almost wondered if they were drinking in there, as she was hardly ever this giddy over anything.

“Dead serious, I was ready to kill the old pervert. And I’ve never seen Hinata turn such a shade before...I mean head to toe...it was amazing she remained conscious!” Naruto’s talking about Hinata? Now his curiosity was definitely peaked.

“Well then what happened?” Sakura goaded him. ‘Yes...what happened next, Naruto’ Neji asked to himself silently on the porch.

“I threatened him not to tell anyone, then he pointed out what time it was and Hinata panicked and ran out the door without her stuff.” The familiar voice said with a chuckle, admitting the absurdity of the whole situation.

“Wait, you mean she just ran out of here....NAKED!?!?!” She squealed with laughter. Neji’s jaw tightened, his fist clenching slowly causing his knuckles to crack. ‘Hinata was here....naked last night?!? Forget scaring him... I’m going to annihilate him.’ Naruto was laughing to.

“No no!! She wasn’t naked! At that point I had given her something of mine to wear...” the Hyuga relaxed a little at that. “But I still haven’t figured out where in this place her underwear got to.”

‘Oh that’s it...he dies now’ Neji turned and pounded hard on the door. The laughter inside stopped abruptly.

“Who the hell could that be?” Sakura wondered from inside. Two sets of footsteps could be heard, and then the door was opened, bathing their visitor in light from inside.

“Neji!” Naruto said way to cheerfully. “How did...” but he wasn’t able to finish his next statement. He found himself pushed rather forcefully against the wall, one hand around his neck and another fisted tightly in the fabric of his shirt, holding him so that his feet couldn’t touch the floor. Pale grey eyes filled with rage hovered before his, and a hitai-ate pressed hard into his own uncovered forehead, making sure he gazed back into them. Naruto had instinctively grabbed onto the hand at his throat, but the harder he tried to remove it, the tighter the grip around his windpipe got. He could hear Sakura in the background screaming at them, but to no avail.

“What did you do to Hinata-sama?” The voice was firm and steady, not betraying the obvious loathing the speaker was feeling at that moment. His victim grunted and squeaked, but was unable to reply in his current position. This only enraged Neji more. “I said, what did you do to my cousin?”

“He can’t answer you if you don’t let him breath!” Sakura screamed from behind him, grabbing his arms and trying to force him to let go of the now purple faced boy in his hands. “And besides, he hasn’t done anything that you yourself haven’t done with Tenten you fucking hypocrite!”

Those words came as a slap to the face, and Naruto was released to a coughing pile on the floor. His attacker turned to face the now fuming kunoichi in front of him. “That has nothing to do with this. How dare you bring my relationship with her into this.”

“Nothing to do with this, huh?” she smirked, realizing she’d struck a nerve. “So what you’re saying is that you can run around with Tenten and do whatever your perverted little mind comes up with, but Hinata is unable to have any kind of love life of her own?”

“I never said any such thing.” came the cold reply. The dark boy was shaking now, fighting for control over his emotions. He wanted to slap her across the face for suggesting such a thing, but he refused to stoop so low as to strike a woman over a verbal argument.

“I’m sorry, you’re right. Love is fine, you just won’t let her enjoy a sex-life.” He scoffed at such a notion, and she just grinned even wider. She was enjoying this way too much. Her common sense told her to stop taunting him, but her inner voice was cheering her on. She glanced carefully at Naruto, who was still wheezing on the floor. It sounded like Neji had crushed his larynx, but she could see the bruises around his neck already starting to fade. She wondered if that strange healing ability would be able to take care of that as well.

“I’m only looking out for her... it’s my duty in the family to protect her... you wouldn’t understand.” Now he was just getting annoyed. Sakura had nothing to do with ANY of this, and she certainly had no right to be criticizing him. Why was he arguing with her when it was Naruto he came to confront? Before he could point this out he was startled by a strangled gasp behind him.

“Both of you just shut up for a minute.” Naruto wheezed, having finally managed to get back to his feet. His voice was rough and gravely, causing both to wince at him. He coughed again to clear his throat, spitting red onto the floor. Sakura moved toward him but he waved her off. “I’m ok, just give me a minute,” he said, his voice already sounding a bit more normal. The site of blood had calmed Neji for a moment, making him realize that maybe he had perhaps gone to far. The room went silent as they waited for him.

Naruto sputtered a bit more, fighting back tears at the burning pain as the crushed bone and damaged trachea repaired themselves. ‘So you’re still around huh, old fox? I was beginning to wonder about you.’ he mused.

‘Of course I am, don’t be ridiculous. Just didn’t see a need to step in till now.’

The blonde startled for a moment, surprised at the reply. He shook his head as he felt everything pop back into place and could finally breath again properly. ‘Never mind... I’ll talk to you later.’

“Neji, I understand where you’re coming from. I kinda expected this from you.” he cleared his throat again, still having that acrid metal taste of blood at the back of his mouth. “But it’s important that you know I haven’t done anything to harm her, and I certainly haven’t done anything with out her consent.”

The older boy raised an eyebrow. “But you admit that you have...” he searched his mind for a proper word, not wanting to associate sweet, shy Hinata with such acts, ‘been ‘intimate’ with her?” Neji scowled as he received an affirmative answer, angry with himself for allowing it to happen. He didn’t realize that the kindly nudge he had meant to give them last night had instead been an open invite into the bedroom. Hiashi would be livid if/when he found out... if he hadn’t already. “And just what are you intentions toward her now?” he demanded, watching as Naruto let out a sigh.

“That’s where this gets complicated, and I really...really need you to calm down and listen to what I have to say.” There was a seriousness to his voice that caught him off gaurd. Neji looked back and forth between the teammates, the grave looks in their eyes causing his frustration to fade to concern. With a silent nod, he turned and followed the two in the livingroom.