Forgetting Sasuke

Disclaimer: Don't own em... but if I did... ^__^

Lots of NejiSaku goodness abounds...

Without further ado-

~~~~~

“How are you feeling?” Sakura asked Gaara. The kazekage was lying on his bed, Sakura next to him, her hands on his chest. She had been working for the last three hours, pouring her chakra into him and was starting to feel drained.

“It’s hard to say,” he replied, sitting up slowly. “May I?” he asked, referring to getting up for a quick stretch.

“Please,” she said, standing up to move out of his way. He stood, stretched slowly and took a few steps to the window. He began pacing slowly, testing out his balance.

“I don’t feel as weak,” he said slowly, “but I don’t feel strong. When I try to mold chakra-”

“Don’t!” Sakura said sharply. She didn’t mean to sound so harsh, and quickly added, “The gaps in your chakra circulatory system are far from repaired. We’ve only just started. It’s going to take some time before it’s safe for you to use your chakra, let alone control it.”

Gaara simply nodded. He turned to face her, noting the fatigue on her face. “You’re tired.”

“I’m fine,” she smiled unconvincingly.

“Go, rest, Sakura-san,” he ordered. “I have some paperwork to attend to, and we can continue later.”

“Don’t overdo it, Gaara-sama,” Sakura reminded him. She took her leave.

Turning down the hall where their quarters were, she realized with a start that she hadn’t seen Neji or Kiba all morning, and it was nearing noon. She paused at Neji’s door, knocking lightly. No answer.

She couldn’t suppress a yawn and slipped back into her own room, falling asleep moments after hitting the soft bed.

* * * * *

“There, and there,” Kankurou pointed to Neji. The two were up on the walls surrounding Sand’s perimeter. The areas pointed out were the locations of the two most brutal attacks on Suna shinobi.

Neji’s byakugan eyes scanned the area. “There’s a lot of rock, some cactus, nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Which is exactly why we can’t figure out how they were able to best us,” Kankurou replied. “It’s frustrating.”

“Understandably,” Neji said, his eyes never wavering. “These weren’t the first attacks though, were they?”

“No,” Kankurou admitted. “Those took place on the edges of Wind Country, not here near Suangakure.”

“How many survivors did you say there were from that first attack?”

“One.”

Neji’s mind was already working out the details of what had happened, fitting into his enemy-nin henge theory. One ‘survivor’ left, reports to Suna, the rest lay in wait for Sand shinobi, said ninja think they’ve found survivors and are disposed of before being able to defend themselves once the henge is removed. Neji had to admit it was brilliant.

He turned back to Kankurou, who looked agitated and perplexed. He was a man who liked to be informed, and not knowing was really starting to get to him. Neji wasn’t ready to divulge his theories yet, not until he had additional information to support it. In the meantime, his objective was to keep an eye on the Kazekage and help in digging up whatever other information he could.

The wind kicked up, sending sand everywhere. “We need to get inside,” Kankurou stated. “Sand storm.”

The two men vanished.

* * * * *

Sakura glanced at the clock after lying wide awake for what she guessed was an hour. Two-thirty AM. It had been a week since they’d arrived in Suna and Sakura hadn’t seen Neji since that first day. She’d found out in a note Neji had left her that Kiba had gone back to Konoha earlier than they’d agreed, although didn’t know the details as to why, and she couldn’t get a chance to talk to him as he’d been out patrolling with the Sand-nin and she was holed up working on the Kazekage for long hours. She was worried, but focused her attention on her duty.

At night though, she missed him. When she’d fall into bed, she’d wish Neji would slip into her room and hold her like he did those first few times, but he never did. He wasn’t there. She hadn’t even caught so much as a glimpse of him in three days.

Sakura sighed. Of course Neji wouldn’t be slipping into the room all stealthy and romantically, they were there on a mission, and the success of the mission is what mattered. Her own selfish wants were unimportant.

The Kazekage was making vast improvement. He still couldn’t safely mold chakra yet, but he was doing infinitely better than he was, able to stand for periods of time, the coughing had subsided, he was even able to attend a few short meetings. Sakura couldn’t help but feel proud of her accomplishment. For knowing next to nothing about his affliction, she’d made huge amounts of progress. Unfortunately, she still knew nothing about the jutsu Chiyobaa used to revive Gaara, and that missing link was the most important piece of the puzzle. Were this ever to happen to Naruto, Sakura could easily repair the damage of the chakra system after demon extraction, but it wouldn’t do any good if he was dead.

The thought of losing Naruto twisted her gut painfully. ‘I can’t think about this,’ she thought quietly. She looked down at the bright orange shirt she wore to sleep, the shirt Naruto had given her ages ago that she never relinquished. It was just understood that he would never get this shirt back. It made her feel close to him.

Thoughts plagued Sakura’s mind, and despite how tired she was, she knew she wasn’t going to be falling back to sleep any time soon. She climbed out of bed, dressing quietly and stepping out into the dark hallway.

She found herself on the roof, looking out over the lights of Suna. It was nothing like her beloved Konoha, which was pretty, green and lush even in the village. Sunagakure was so tan, so bare, it didn’t feel warm and inviting the way Konoha always made her feel.

Konoha. It was rare for her to get homesick, but on nights like these, she wished she was home and able to stroll through all the familiar places she liked to go when she couldn’t sleep. The bridge had always been her favorite, the meeting spot of Team Seven, it was a place that gave her great comfort. She smirked, remembering the last time she’d visited the old red bridge on a sleepless night, and the damage she and her accomplice caused. The smile slowly gave way to a frown, accompanied by a sigh.

Sakura was worried. Not having talked to Neji in days and learning only what the Kazekage himself was informed, she didn’t know how serious the situation in Suna was, or how dangerous it might be for Konoha. That Neji sent Kiba back that first night rather then waiting the specified time did not sit well with her, and she had to admit she was a little angry at being kept out of the loop, even if they were busy.

Her thoughts returned once more to Naruto. She was always the worrier, he was always the cheerful one to balance her out. This was by no means the first time they weren’t on the same mission together, but she found herself missing him more than usual. ‘It’s the nature of the work I’m doing,’ she concluded, ‘because whatever I can find out with Gaara has the potential to save Naruto’s life.’ It made perfect sense. Still, something didn’t sit well with her, and she missed having her teammate there to alleviate her anxiety.

A harsh wind kicked up, running over Sakura’s exposed skin, making her shiver. Warm arms slipped around her from behind. “Sakura,” she heard him whisper, his breath hot on her ear.

“Neji-kun,” she replied, sinking into his arms and berating herself for getting so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t noticed his presence.

“What are you doing up here at this time of night?” he breathed into her hair, pulling her closer to him.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she replied softly. She turned around in his arms, wrapping her own around him as she faced him.

He leaned down and kissed her softly. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” she admitted. “But Neji, we have to talk.”

Instead of replying, he kissed her once more. She kissed back for a moment, before pulling away and looking at him sternly, disentangling herself from his embrace. “I’m serious, Neji, I haven’t spoken to you in a week, and aside from a note slipped under my door telling me Kiba left early, I haven’t been informed of anything.”

Neji sighed. “I haven’t been avoiding you,” he said tonelessly, “I’ve just been busy. I know you’ve been busy with your own work with the Kazekage, and we haven’t had an opportunity to-”

“Neji,” Sakura interrupted, putting a finger to his lips, “I’m not angry, I just want to know what’s going on.”

He nodded, “I think I’ve figured out how the attacks have been taking place. Enemy ninja are using henges to transform into Sand-nin and attacking the Sand shinobi before they can defend. It’s very well thought out, which is dangerous for us.”

Sakura nodded, taking in all the information. “What about Kiba? Have we heard from him yet?”

“No,” he shook his head, “we haven’t.”

Sakura’s features twisted into concern. “This isn’t good,” she thought aloud, “he should’ve gotten back three days ago. What if he was attacked?”

“The thought has occurred to me,” Neji admitted.

“We have no way of letting Konoha know what’s going on!” she said, obviously upset.

“Kankurou has already given me use of their carrier hawks. I’ve sent an encrypted message to Hokage-sama, letting her know both our position here as well as the fact that Kiba was heading back and we haven’t heard from him regarding his return. I’m expecting a reply from her in the morning.”

“Neji,” Sakura said quietly, sternly, “neither of us have been so busy that you couldn’t have told me this. You had an obligation to tell me.”

Neji sighed, clearly defeated. He knew he’d been wrong and she had every right to be angry. He felt like a small child getting scolded. The fact that he hadn’t wanted to worry her even more given the delicate nature of her work with the Kazekage really was no excuse. “You’re right, I did. I apologize.”

Sakura’s eyes clouded not with anger but with concern. She shook her head, starting to pace. “If anything happened to Kiba…”

Neji stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her once more. Rather than fighting him, she let herself sink into his embrace. “Neji-kun, I-”

“Shh,” Neji hushed her, pressing his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. He could feel her hand slowly reach up to his neck, pulling him to her as she deepened the kiss. He moaned, loving it when she took control. His hands wandered down her body to her beautiful rear, which he kneaded tentatively.

Sakura threw herself into Neji at his touch, pressing her body firmly to his, thrusting her tongue deep into his welcoming mouth. When they pulled away, both were breathless. They stared into one another’s eyes, both burning with desire. “Sakura…” he whispered. Another gust of wind sent shivers down them both. “Let’s go inside.” Sakura nodded.

Neji led her through the dark hallway to his quarters, slipping the door open and following her in. Moonlight filled the otherwise dark room. She could feel Neji slip up behind her, his breath hot on her neck. Her heart was racing with a fury she’d never known. He turned her around, capturing her lips in another frenzied kiss which she eagerly reciprocated.

Her arms went around his neck; his hands hoisted her legs up, wrapping them around him. She moaned, feeling his hands kneading her ass as they continued fiercely kissing, each tongue fighting for dominance over the other. Suddenly she found herself on the bed, Neji covering her. His hand roamed up the side of her body to her throat, where he lightly caressed, pulling back from the kiss to look at her.

Sakura’s beautiful green eyes were clouded over with excitement and desire. She gasped as Neji’s feather light touch danced over the delicate skin of her throat, clavicle, shoulders, her face. She stared at him with wide eyes as he pulled down the zipper of her shirt. He continued to run his fingers lightly over her chest and stomach, taking careful note of each reaction. Then his lips were upon her, kissing her neck, her collarbone, raining light kisses on her chest, down her stomach and back up.

Sakura was dizzy with sensation, feeling Neji’s lips barely brushing her skin, leaving trails of kisses so light she wouldn’t have even known she’d been touched if she hadn’t seen it. He pulled her body up slightly, peeling her shirt off her shoulders and letting it slip to the floor. His deft hand made easy work of her bra clasp, and he gently guided her back down to the soft mattress as he tossed it aside.

Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of Neji taking her in. She could feel the flames rising in her cheeks as Neji appraised her body. His eyes met hers for a brief moment before he wordlessly descended upon her breasts, a hand massaging one while he took the other into his mouth, his tongue flicking lightly over her hardening nipple. Sakura’s eyes rolled back as she moaned. He licked and squeezed and bit gently before turning his attentions to the other, repeating the same ministrations.

Neji felt her fingers tangle into his hair as he rained his affections on her petite, perfect breasts. His hand slipped down, over her muscled abdomen, and gently ran a finger over the fabric covering her center. She shuddered underneath of him. He pried his lips from her breast, seeking her lips once more. She captured his lips in hers, her hands woven tightly into his dark tresses, keeping him firmly in her grasp. His fingers ran once more, dancing lightly over her still covered center and she moaned, pressing herself into his touch.

“Neji-kun…” He pulled back, sitting up on his knees. She followed, fumbling with the buttons of his yukata, pulling away the offending material, exposing his gorgeous muscled chest and stomach. She ran her fingers down his chest before leaning up and placing her lips to his skin. Neji moaned as she licked and nipped randomly at his flesh, throwing his head back as she gently bit on his nipple. She continued her ministrations as she pulled away the rest of his yukata until he was left in nothing but his boxers. Her kisses continued down his chest to his sculpted stomach before coming back up to catch his lips in her own.

“Sakura…” Neji whispered, taking her hand into his, running it down his chest and abs, “Touch me.”

She nodded, slowly lowering the band of his boxers, letting the material slide to his knees, which he kicked off. In the bright moonlight, Sakura gazed at Neji’s manhood, her eyes wide. She had never seen a man’s instrument before and was filled with amazement and awe. She took him tentatively into her hands, her fingertips lightly brushing over the sensitive skin of his member. Neji shuddered at the contact, his hands gripping Sakura’s thighs, kneading her firm flesh. She wrapped her right hand firmly around his length and pulled, eliciting a gasp from Neji. She stared at him to see his eyes closed, his face contorted in either immense pain or pleasure. She pulled again, and Neji sank against her, taking her lips into his own. She began building a rhythm, taking pleasure in Neji’s staggered breathing, his soft moans, the way his left hand kneaded her thigh, his right hand tangled possessively in her hair.

“Sakura…” he moaned softly, his breathing labored. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from his protesting erection. “No more… not yet…”

Sakura looked at Neji with wide eyes as he gently guided her back down to the mattress. He kissed her lips gently before moving down her jaw, her throat, clavicle, chest, breasts, stomach… he pulled down her shorts and panties in one motion, kissing down her legs as he slowly pulled the material away. He licked and kissed his way back up her legs, his breath hot on her waiting sex. He pulled his head up, his eyes locking with Sakura’s as he slipped a finger into her damp folds. Her eyes widened as her hips bucked against him. He slid his digit in and out before inserting another one.

Sakura’s heart pounded, heat flashing through her body as her body sang in pleasure. Neji’s other hand slipped to her clit, rubbing gently in a circular motion while his other hand continued to pump her, bringing Sakura to a new level of arousal. “Oh, God, Neji-kun…” she moaned.

She could feel something start to build in her in the pit of her stomach, could feel her body preparing for something when suddenly Neji’s fingers left her aching and empty. She looked up at him with a confused, pained expression, sighing in frustration.

“Neji…” she whispered desperately.

“Sakura…” he replied gently, his eyes locked with hers as he positioned the head of his erection at her entrance. He lowered himself onto her, his chest on hers, taking her into his arms to hold her as he gently slipped inside her, moving slowly until he met the expected resistance. Sakura froze in his arms. Neji carefully brought his hand down and slipped it between their bodies, finding her clit and rubbing gently. Sakura moaned at his touch, her head falling back once again. He snapped his hips forward, breaking through her barrier. She cried out, his lips coming down on hers in a bruising kiss. He froze inside her, continuing his ministrations on her clitoris, waiting for her pain to subside.

Neji’s beautiful white eyes stared into Sakura’s own, and she felt grateful that he would wait for her to be ready before continuing. His hand rubbing against her sex was dulling the pain inside and slowly she nodded, whispering his name.

He slid out gently before pushing back in. His hand came back up to her face, his body now pressed firmly against hers. He stroked her cheek, ran his fingers through her hair, kissed her as he slid through her tight, hot center. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair disheveled, her lips slightly parted and her eyes slightly clouded. She was absolutely stunning.

Sakura could feel Neji pumping in and out of her, his hard, muscled chest rubbing against her breasts. Her breathing became staggered. Neji pulled back, propping himself up with arms placed on either side of Sakura. He readjusted himself and drove into her.

“Neji-kun!” she cried as he hit some crucial spot deep inside of her she wasn’t aware even existed. He thrust in again, hitting that same spot that made her shudder and moan. She ran her hands over his body, her nails down his chest, reaching behind to grab his ass and pull him back down into her. He smirked at her sudden forwardness and complied, letting her determine his thrusts. He leaned down and captured her lips, kissing her hard and deep as he thrust his tongue into her mouth. He could hear her moan echoing through his own throat.

He continued to pound her, repeatedly hitting that place in Sakura that was driving her wild. She could feel that same pressure building up within her, that thing that was going to explode, sending her over the edge, beyond thought, beyond reason. Neji’s thrusts became more erratic; she could sense he was nearing his end as well.

“Sakura…” he whispered, touching her cheek as he thrust himself into her hard.

“Neji!” Sakura’s scream caught in her throat as she reached her peak. She saw nothing but white light for long moments as wave upon wave of ecstasy filled her being.

Neji groaned, “Sakura,” as he came, exploding into her as she convulsed around him. His face contorted, his eyes shut tightly, his head thrown back as they rode out the last waves of their pleasure.

He collapsed on top of her as his arms finally gave out. He nuzzled her neck with his lips, his fingers brushing her cheek before tangling themselves in her hair. Her own hands were wrapped around his neck and waist, holding him to her. The two inhaled deeply, trying to regain their breath. After long moments, Neji propped himself up slightly to meet Sakura’s face.

Her eyes were hazy, her expression content. She smiled at him, a smile he had never seen before, one that was meant only for him in intimate moments such as this. She leaned up and kissed him, her palm to his cheek, pulling his face down with hers and she rested into the pillow. It was a soft kiss, sweet and gentle.

Neji slowly pulled out of her, rolling onto his back. Sakura grabbed the sheet tangled at the foot of the mattress and pulled it up as she put her head in the crook of Neji’s shoulder, throwing her leg over his as she nestled up against him. Neji smiled as his arms wrapped around her. Her breathing was becoming slow and regular, and Neji could tell sleep was near for both of them.

“Sakura…” he said quietly after a few moments.

“Hm?” she moaned sleepily.

“You are… breathtaking.”

She smiled, “Neji-kun… so… are…”

Sakura drifted off to sleep before finishing the sentence. Neji smiled, holding her close and feeling truly at peace for the first time in his life.

~~~~~

A/N: So I promised this one would be good. I hope you all like it. The next chapter is underway.

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