The Scheme

Scheme – Chapter 5

The large grandfather clock chimed nine times leaving an audible echo to resonate in the silent dark room that held a pink haired woman to awaken from her sleep. Smacking her lips to relieve the cotton sensation in her mouth, she blinked her blearily eyes several times to haul herself from her earlier comatose state. She found herself laying her head on top of important and secretive genjutsu scrolls that were piled high up on her desk.

‘Great, now I’m really like Tsunade-sama. People weren’t kidding when they said I’m transforming into her mini clone.’

She sluggishly lifted her mussed up bird nest resemblance of a head to find that her drool had seeped into the rice paper smudging the ink and smearing the words.

“Crap, crap, crap! Damn shit!” Inner and outer Sakura jointly cursed out loud. Alarmed by her mistake, she frantically blew on the documents to dry the damp paper. Concurrently, she attempted to retrace the lost words on these precious historical documents obviously written by famous ninjas long past. So hysterical was she that she failed to notice a dark figure slink in through an open window. Not that she was an oblivious ninja, the stealth skills attributable to this person was synonymous to an inconspicuous breeze wafting in during a late spring evening.

“You are doing a horrible job Haruno,” remarked a velvety masculine voice.

Without looking up, she recognized who had entered her domain. He was the only person who bothered to greet her in such a fashion. They never exchanged pleasantries or a mere a hello or goodbye, but it reflected his enigmatic personality.

Paying closer attention to her grip on her ink brush, her forehead creased in concentration and her tongue wetted her outer lips. She heard a jostle on a guest chair nearby.

“You should give up,” he said amused.

With a deep sigh, she slammed the brush on her desk in frustration. She stared at the man shrouded by darkness except for his luminous silvery eyes.

“I did not ask for your opinion Hyuuga.” She sat back to inspect her work. “Can’t you be a normal person and use the door for once?” Silence was her reply. ‘How typical’ she thought.

“So what brings you here? I thought your Anbu squad had a mission,” she said, never distracting her attention from the papers in front of her.

“We just completed our mission.”

Sakura reached over to her desk lamp and flicked on the switch to flood the entire room with light. She looked over at Neji to find him still habiting his Anbu outfit with his bird mask in his hand. She resumed her scrutiny at the effort exerted to undo her blunder. That smug man was right. The stain on the paper was evident, and the lines were obviously mismatched.

She leaned back in her chair and wore a quirky grin. “Oh well. I’ll just say that Tsunade-sama did it.”

He smiled because he knew that people will believe her. The great Hokage had a reputation for such behavior and people would expect her to ruin such precious documents. Not assuming the diligent apprentice to cause this blemish would be a believable and natural oversight.

Sakura hurriedly went over to the Anbu and began a thirty minute medical examination in the privacy of her office. Neji sat wordlessly as she poked, prodded, and squeezed different parts of his body. He only bestowed upon her the liberty to take such actions against his persons because of her high status as a medical nin and the peculiar amiable relationship they both shared with each other.

“Nope. Everything seems to be in order,” she concluded scribbling on a prepared medical chart that sat on her desk.

“Did you expect anything different?” he asked dryly.

“Shut it. You should be glad that you don’t have to go to the medical unit like the rest of Anbu where they treat you like some animal experiment.”

“And you never fail to mention it,” he retorted as he unzipped his Anbu vest and placed both the garment and the mask in a satchel Sakura left in her closet.

“It’s like tradition Hyuuga so stop whining. Besides, you should be grateful. All the horror stories I’ve heard,” She answered impishly. She also hurried to clear her desk and organize the documents for the next day.

Neji patiently waited by the door to wait for the pink haired kunoichi as she finished her day’s task, then followed her out the room.

A few minutes later, they entered a secluded and fairly unknown sake bar. They sat down at their usual table near the back of the bar.

The owner, who happened to be the only worker, came by. “Hello Haruno-san and Hyuuga-san. The usual?”

“Make it double,” Sakura announced cheerfully.

Five years ago, Sakura would have never imagined herself sitting in a bar with Neji of all people. Nor could she ever contemplate becoming his confidante and close friend. However, with Naruto and Sasuke missing for a few years, Sakura sought new friendships and now shared a distinctive relationship with each member of the Rookie Nine and Gai’s team. With Ino, the old bond they shared came back in full force; with Hinata, Sakura became her model to become more assertive; with TenTen, their love of tools – her ninja arsenal and Sakura’s medical instruments – took them to appreciate a new female friendship; with Shikamura, Sakura was his biggest rival in Shogi; with Kiba, Sakura was his only willing rowdy karaoke buddy; with Choji, she became his steadfast pupil in the culinary arts; with Shino, their serene love of nature led them to enjoy hikes in the countryside together; with Lee, Sakura’s developing skills in hand to hand combat courtesy of her sensei allowed her to be Lee’s perfect practice partner; and with Neji, it was sake.

Sakura’s love of sake sparked this unusual and somewhat secretive relationship with the blank eyed Hyuuga. Tsunade-sama preference for the drink inspired Sakura’s curiosity of it at an early age. As her taste became accustomed to the rich flavorful liquor and its mind-numbing effects, she developed a habit of drinking it and a problem in searching for someone to share in her little indulgence. Her female friends did not appreciate the stuff, Kiba favored beer and grain alcohol instead, Choji believed drinking to be a wasteful venture when his stomach can be filled with more food, Shikamaru thought it troublesome, and Lee transformed into a psychopath. Shino occasionally shared a drink with Sakura and Neji only after stressful missions because his bugs detested the effects of dehydration on his skin. And thus, Sakura depended on the normally composed Neji who appeared not to have a vice in the world. Surprisingly, after the gennin exams, Neji dislodged the gigantic stick in his ass and endeavored to slowly and consciously free himself from his straight laced existence. Sake granted him some relief, and one day she found him drinking by himself in the very bar they now occupied. That was one year ago, and currently, it had become customary for them to indulge together after each successive mission.

As the numerous bottles of sake arrived, Sakura immediately poured and began sipping on the alcohol.

“AAAHHH! This is the stuff,” she cooed at her drink.

Neji smirked with his sake in hand.

“Don’t look at me like that. You like it too. And I had a hard day.”

“Hmpf.”

“Just because you’re Anbu means crap. You get action, and all I get is putting up with snot asses like you who come to me all bloodied and gory so I can stitch them back up just so I can repeat the process the next day,” she said accusingly.

“But you still do it.”

“Takes one to know one,” she countered.

He merely nodded to her as a symbolic gesture of his agreement. They were both ninja, albeit they had different tasks, and as their duties demanded them to perform unpleasant tasks that compromised their morality and the very nature of self preservation, they still did it without any hesitation.

“So did the assassination go well?” Sakura started.

Sake may have initiated their friendship but the foundation of their relationship rested upon certain unique situations. He was the first and only Anbu in the group of friends, and she as the Hokage’s apprentice was privy to confidential information. The Hyuuga could not seek other Anbu comrades or few high but elderly administrative personnel to alleviate the mounting frustration and anxiety that naturally came to his profession. Hence he came to her, the only person in his acquaintance who had security clearance to confide his troubles even if the manner was cloaked by his proud and guarded personality.

“Yes,” he responded quietly.

“The children?” inquired Sakura knowing the nature of the assassination of a lord’s family.

“Quick and painless,” he mumbled as he drank some more.

“I’m glad to hear that,” she replied as she squeezed his non occupied hand. “Although you may deny it, but you are a good person.”

When his eyes dropped to the table obviously brewing over the night’s actions, she felt it imperative to change the mood to preserve some modicum of sanity. No wonder many who at first desired to become Anbu for its elite status had second thoughts once they achieved their goal. Kakashi-sensei represented a long line of former Anbu ninjas who turned from its way of life.

As she gingerly caressed the sake bottle with her finger, she peered over at her stoic companion. “I saw you the other day,” she said thoughtfully.

“I do not care for your love life.”

“Well you should because your nonexistent one should encourage you to live vicariously through mine,” she snorted.

His facial expression conveyed indifference, the usual Hyuuga appearance.

“That is not what I wanted to talk to you about,” Sakura continued ignoring his Hyuuga-ness which irked her on occasion.

“Then what is it?”

“You know of my plan.”

“You mean the one I happened to be involved right now?”

“Of course, what else,” she beamed at him. For weeks the Hyuuga had been using the skills that landed him as the only one thus far in their click into the Anbu class to supply her with information about Sai. Understandably, there was a little persuasion on her part.

“And what do you want to know?”

“I want your assessment.” Sakura figured that Neji could see through her plan -- no pun intended -- so she thought it wise to include him in her master scheme. His expertise in his bloodlimit, stealth ability, and apathy made him her number candidate to become her spy. With some maneuvering, Neji grudgingly consented.

“I can not give you my opinion on whether it will succeed or not. So far, your operation is continuing well. There is much talk about you and Sai around town.”

“Even Anbu?” Sakura asked for shits and giggles.

“We are Anbu. We do not resort to such plebian behaviors,” he replied affronted.

She rolled her eyes as she started her third bottle. “Please. You know that ninjas no matter what rank are gossip whoremongers.”

With a grimace, he quickly drained his second bottle. “Yes. They do.”

“So?”

After ten seconds of silence and Sakura’s narrowing eyes threatening to get violent, he relented, “They find it amusing. Are you happy now?”

Becoming slightly buzzed, she bobbed her head like a pigeon in midst of a seizure. “Stop being a stick in the mud Hyuuga.”

“Haruno, I rather be that then what you have become.”

“And that is?” she growled after chugging another bottle straight from the source rather than resorting to a dinky dish.

Exaggerating his sips from his dish, Neji amusingly smirked, “A conniving, maniacal, and demonic women bent on her fanatical pursuit for all that is unholy.”

While sober Sakura would have first contemplated his comment to consider whether what he meant was offensive or complimentary, a not-so-sober Sakura reacted violently immediately. As she began to stand up to give the Hyuuga the beating of his life, a piece of paper slapped her on her forehead. As usual for a drunken person, she immediate forgot her anger and stared at the paper in wonder.

“What is this?” she slurred with the paper in hand.

“That is for you not to cause a scene and demolish this building,” he answered in a huskier tone. The alcohol apparently affected both the drinkers although the male masked it better than the female.

Her glazed eyes squinted to read the perfectly neat script. “What does Chasako paper have anything to do with this?”

“Haruno, pay attention. Sai’s illusion attacks are specifically geared based on his illustrative scripts. The Chasako paper is a type of special ninja paper that can be found only in Water Country from specially grown reeds. It is rare to come by because only one man manufactures them, but the images created are more authentic and deadlier than the normal run of the mill scroll. Sai knows this and covets it.”

“Really?” shouted Sakura losing her control over the volume of her voice as drunken people tend to do so often.

“Haruno shut up. Yamanaka’s yelling already ruptured one eardrum.”

Sakura scanned her overly large brain. “Well there is only one thing to do.”

Neji noticed the look reminiscent of Orochimaru and gazed at her skeptically if not afraid. However, he dared to ask, “What is it?”

With a goofy grin on her face as she hastily wiped off the sake from her chin, she slurred, “Duh. I’ll get Tsunade-sama to set up your Anbu squad in a mission in Water Country so that your rich ass can buy me a boatload of that paper.” Her purpose was not as selfish as it blatantly sounded. Out of compassion, she had to keep his mind off his next mission involving cold blooded murder to some degree.

Without contesting whatever vile idea was spouting like weeds in Sakura’s mind, which was the prudent act to do at these times, Neji began his fifth bottle of sake.

“Oi Hyuuga?”

“What?”

“You will do this for me,” she stated belligerently.

“I don’t really need to ask do I?”

“I already had Lee-san pursue Sai more fervently than before. So no more eternal rival, records, and ‘I challenge you’ business for some time. Peace and quite, Hyuuga. Imagine that,” she sweetly offered him as her head swayed slightly from left to right. Six bottles would do that to a person even if that person was a ninja.

Slightly insulted, Negi’s watery white eyes narrowed. “I already comprehended the situation Haruno.” This statement translated into his acquiescence.

As the wonderful drunken duo exited the little bar with arms uncharacteristically slung around each other – especially for a Hyuuga on any sober day – they stumbled through the drunken street that was thankfully empty. It would bring shame to the Hyuuga name for anyone to witness him very intoxicated and very much out of character. But at three o’clock in the morning and out of sheer luck or common sense, they did not encounter any passersby, citizen, ninja or otherwise, to witness Neji’s reaction to such a scenerio.

As Neji pushed the giddy girl who was lit up like a Christmas tree into her apartment, his farewell that night was most endearing.

“Haruno, I’m glad I’m your friend and not your enemy.”

She gurgled as her response and somehow managed to climb into her bed to pass out.

A/N: As you can see that I’m more partial to Neji/Sakura pairings. I also like Itachi/Sakura pairings. These stories are more interesting if done properly, but if written poorly, then it’s a disaster. Don’t worry, it’s not my intention to hook Sakura together with either of the men in this story. I just wanted to write Neji’s character because I find it challenging. Furthermore, on a personal rant, what is up with people wanting Neji and Hinata to end up together? That’s plain gross. Not only is it illegal to wed your first cousin in every state except Kansas and a few others, but their fathers were twin brothers. Yucko……. But hey, whatever floats your boat, right?

Anyhow~ next chapter will be a confrontation with Sasuke-kun. Sorry for all these filler chapters. I thought they are required to give depth to Sakura’s character from her interactions with others. It also explains how Sakura knows the stuff she does. I know it’s tedious to rationalize everything but I just want to put into words how thorough the girl has become.

Can’t believe that I finished this. I’m hammered right now too. And people, I’ll write some smut later after a few chapters (you know that will only be available in the adultfanfiction site). She will get the chance to raise her legs up to Jesus and praise his name soon enough.