Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Maneuvers ❯ Chapter One, Naru/Saku ( Chapter 1 )

Frightening Encounter

 

When Naruto regained consciousness, it was accompanied by great reluctance, a sense of denial, and an impeding sense of doom.

 

“Naruto”, a sweetly feminine voice whispered.

 

Warm breath tickled his earlobe, and the alluring scent of cherries and jasmine floated by his nose, momentarily intoxicating his senses. A small warm hand with slender fingers stroked back the hair dangling over his forehead.

 

To many a patient in his position, being coaxed awake in such a fashion would likely be the subject of erotic dreams for weeks to come. And that was all before they even opened their eyes to behold orbs of vibrant green peering soulfully into theirs, a cute mouth pouting slightly with thoughtfulness, and silky tendrils of pale pink floating over perfectly shaped eyebrows and a well-proportioned forehead escaping a messy ponytail.

 

Not so Uzumaki Naruto. He wished Lee had kicked him harder in the head on their disastrous mission, so he could have remained unconscious. He might even have preferred to be hit again by chidori. Or to be eaten by a giant snake. Or to have Gaara drop dead in front of him.

 

“Naruto”! her voice was purring, almost seductive in its intensity. Naruto trembled, as the sense that all was not well grew stronger.

 

Surely his injuries weren't bad enough to prevent him running? If he could just surprise her…he'd almost succeeded last time (he couldn't quite remember, as he'd managed to run straight into the wall). But since then, he'd made a special effort to pinpoint the exact location of the door. He could escape, then wait until the day was over and she was exhausted from treating all her other patients, then -

 

Behind his tightly shut eyes and jumbled plans, he sensed the siren move in even closer.

 

“Are you…pretending to be asleep”? She placed a fingertip on his cheek, and her shadow fell over his face.

 

He lost it.

 

“Arrrgh”!! he yelled. His eyes flew open, and he leapt out of the hospital bed. Or tried to anyway. He barely had a moment to register the pain in his left leg before he was falling flat on his face.

 

“Damn, I knew it”! he thought desperately. “She left me injured on purpose this time so I couldn't escape”!

 

Or knowing his deceptively pink childhood crush, Kyuubi had already healed him, and she'd deliberately re-broken or re-sprained whatever had been wrong with him in the first place.

 

An abrupt choking sensation on his neck and a hard yank backwards prevented Naruto from making his acquaintance with the glaring marble floor, and his rear end landed back onto the bed with a thump. Too bad for him, he might have managed to knock himself into sweet oblivion again. Squeezing his cerulean eyes shut, he waited for the rage and the verbal onslaught.

 

And he waited.

 

The only sound the small ruby mouth emitted was a soft, sad little sigh. He felt the weight of the bed shuffle slightly as she sat herself down, then a pair of slender arms, pale and luminous, wrapped themselves around his waist. Her hair brushed past his neck as she leaned her head into his shoulder blades.

 

Naruto froze in shock, and looked down suspiciously at the appendages snaked around him, so tightly and - possessively that he could feel the warm outline of her body almost burning a hole in his back. Perhaps he hadn't awoken yet after all?

 

“Na-ru-to”, she breathed. Her mouth was so close to him that her voice was muffled; the breeze ghosting just past his ear and into his neck felt as if they'd been caressed by her lips.

 

“Y-yes, Sakura ch-chan”? he said as meekly as possible. He wondered if she could feel him beginning to shake. This, he reflected, must be the meaning of the calm before the storm. It was unfamiliar, because it was a stage Sakura often missed on the way from being normal to Really Pissed Off.

 

“Did you really encourage Lee-san to drink that sake”? Sakura murmured. If anything, she pressed closer, and Naruto could definitely feel the curves of her body wrapping around him. He gulped.

 

“Er - Y-yes”? Naruto stammered. “But we were outnumbered, Sakura chan!” he cried, desperate to get his story straight before she could attack. “WewereexhaustedtoofromourlastmissionandLee-sanwas already hurt, and -“

 

She abruptly vanished from his back, leaving a cold space. Before Naruto could do more than cringe, she'd looped one long leg around his waist, and he felt the bed shift slightly as she placed full balance onto one arm.

 

“Sakura-chan, wait”! he gabbled, mentally bracing himself to hit the wall at blinding speed. Or perhaps she was in the mood to knock him into the equipment today, and watch him being half-electrocuted or saturated with medicinal equipment with strange side effects.

 

“We needed to get out of that tavern fastbeforeweattractedmoreattention, andIfiguredifhewasdrunkhisinjurieswouldhurtless and - ”

 

She slid around to face him in one smooth movement, placing one smooth finger against his lips. With a gulp, Naruto's voice died. The door was just in front of him, surely he could get there before the storm broke? But it was best not to eye the door too intently, or Sakura-chan might realize what he was planning, and there would be hell to pay, and -

 

That thought was abruptly choked off too, when with a movement as smooth as water gliding over a log, Sakura straddled his thighs.

 

“You gave him sake”, Sakura continued to murmur, “knowing how he'd react to alcohol”?, Her eyelids had been half-closed, pale pink lashes fluttering slightly, as if trembling from shyness. When Naruto's only reply was a strangled sound, her wide verdant gaze fastened on him innocently.

 

“Naruto-kun…” And goddammit, she was withdrawing her finger, and both arms were now twining round his neck, eyes fastened on his all the time, bringing his head down closer to her face.

 

“What am I going to do with you”? she asked, her mouth turning down in an adorable pout.

 

“Uh, d-do”? Naruto's eyes were as wide as saucers now. Was she planning to trap him in the floorboards by sending him through the bed or something? He thought wildly. How would she achieve such a feat in that position?

 

“You get injured on every mission”. She tossed her crimson locks back.

 

“You take the stupidest risks”. Her pale throat was bared, as she breathed a heavy sigh into the air.

 

“You always make me heal you”. She rested her forehead against his, so close he could no longer make out her eyes.

 

“Uh, Sakura-chan”! he said gently, trying his best to ignore her shifting weight on his lap. He gave her his most brilliant smile. It sometimes worked. “You know Kyuubi always patches me up on time. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine”.

 

“You? but what will I do”, she whispered, now clinging to him with all her strength, “if one day, I'm unable to heal you? What will I do”, Sakura's voice increased in intensity, “if Kyuubi doesn't fix you up in time?

 

She looked up again, and glared at him. There was a catch in her voice now. “Am I supposed to just sit here, every time, and wait for you to come back half dead? Ne? Am I supposed to worry myself sick every time you're on a mission because I just know you'll do something insane? Am I supposed to” -

 

Slap

 

Staring at her hand as if it were an alien, Sakura abruptly burst into tears, and ran from the ward, leaving a stunned Naruto behind.

 

++++++++

 

 

“I hope you didn't terrify the poor boy too much”? Ino asked, her blue eyes bubbling with mirth.

 

“Oh I think I did”, Sakura replied airily, waving a hand through the air. “But because he was forced to sit and actually listen this time, he'll think twice before he takes unnecessary risks again. I really do think I was successful in getting the message through this time, shishou”.

 

“It was certainly less expensive”, Tsunade added, a predatory gleam in her eyes. “No cracked walls, broken equipment, irreplaceable herbs ground to a pulp…” Sakura smiled sheepishly.

 

Ino suddenly became thoughtful. “Hey forehead”? she said suddenly.

 

“Mmm”?

 

“Aren't you worried that he'll get the wrong message, and act on it”? she asked. “If you really climbed into his lap - we all know he had a major crush on you a while back”.

 

The lithe blonde grinned and circled her rival. “And we wouldn't want…him finding out now, would we”? Both she and Tsunade smirked at the blush that suddenly appeared on Sakura's cheeks.

 

Even as she swiped at Ino, Sakura's grin was devilish.

 

“Don't worry, he'll be too traumatized to tell anyone”.

 

The ward echoed with female laughter.

 

 

A.N: Lol poor Naruto. Anyway, I was planning a Saku/Kiba or a Saku/Neji next, but whether I do so will depend on reviews!! I need to know there are readers out there, otherwise I'll just keep this as a one-off thing.

 

 

 

“Sakura, what is the meaning of this”?

 

Haruno Sakura, personal apprentice to the Hokage and medical shinobi extraordinaire, paused in ripping a strip of white gauze with her teeth, in order to add it to the growing pile on the desk.

 

“Probably exactly what you've heard, Tsunade shishou”, she replied through the material.

 

Tsunade frowned.

 

“I would think”, she said, her voice severe, “that you would know better by now than to pick and choose between patients based on your personal preferences. It's unprofessional, and may be seen as unfair discrimination”

 

“He is in perfectly good health, Shishou”, Sakura replied. “I healed all of the internal damage while he was unconscious, and I've mixed medication to speed replenishment of his chakra levels and strength”.

 

“Then why not give him the report of his progress and advice on his medication to him yourself as befits your duty as a medical nin”? Tsunade demanded.

 

“All he needs now is someone to inform him of the required dosages. Any competent medic nin can do that”.

 

Sakura's voice was calm and respectful, a dutiful pupil addressing her mentor. Tsunade was not fooled.

 

“You do realize”, she said to her apprentice sternly, “that if any harm comes to the Hyuuga boy through a relapse for example, or a refusal to take his medication, the damage will be on your record and the stigma on your reputation as a medic”?

 

“He would be an idiot not to take that medication”, Sakura answered at once. “Neji isn't an idiot. He may be a hardheaded, stubborn, arrogant prick who thinks he is superior to all of - ahem” she coughed delicately, missing her mentor's look of amusement.

 

“He'll take the medication”, Sakura finished quickly.

 

Tsunade nodded. “I'd make certain of that if I were you”.

 

Sakura glared at the bandages on the table. “I'm not going anywhere near him”!

 

­­­­­­­­­

“…three times a day. Dizziness or nausea are common side-effects, and shouldn't last for more than a half-hour…”

 

There was a pause as Ino took out the little bottle she'd prepared for the Hyuuga genius.

 

“My thanks, Yamanaka”. Neji's voice was a deep baritone behind the door Sakura was pressing her ear to.

 

“Ahem”, Neji cleared his throat, and Sakura's heart jumped into her throat. Good god, he wasn't using his Byakugan was he?

 

“Why is this medicine…pink”? Neji inquired.

 

“What? Pink? Oh. That must be Sakura's new concoction”, she heard Ino reply brightly. “It's done wonders for patients still recuperating from chakra loss, but unable to sustain solids for a while thanks to surgery on inner organs and the like”.

A pause, and Sakura smirked at the wooden door. Take that, you arrogant ass. I bet you haven't done anything worth . There didn't seem to be anything to worry about, and Sakura turned to leave.

 

“Then…it hasn't been certified”?

 

“Pardon”?

 

“You're prescribing to me a medication made by a medical ninja of mediocre talent? A nin who is still an amateur”?

 

Mediocre? Amateur??!!

 

Fuming with fury, Sakura smothered a sudden urge to punch a hole through the door. That arrogant condescending presumptuous prick! How dare he?

 

“Neji-san, Sakura may be young, but she's already renowned as one of the most talented medical shinobi in Konoha. She has a fantastic reputation in Suna as well, after she saved Kankurou -san's life”.

 

“She's an average medical ninja whose apprenticeship to the Hokage has made her arrogant and conceited”.

 

Neji's voice was clear and strong, leaving his listeners no doubt of his firm belief of this opinion.

 

“Her lack of professionalism is an obvious indication of this. She becomes childish when things do not go her way, and when her opinions are unheeded. She allows her emotions to get in the way of treating her patients. That is the sign of a mediocrity and insecurity”.

 

By now, Sakura's jaw was hanging open.

 

“Uh, Neji-san”, Ino began.

 

That's right, you tell him, Ino! Tell him how long I worked on him last night, to the point that I was so exhausted I couldn't even walk straight afterwards!

 

Instead of outrage however, Ino's voice was slightly strangled, as if she was trying not to laugh.

 

“That may be slightly true, Neji-san, but still, there has been high demand for this medicine since Sakura created it. There's still very little of it yet you see, and I think only the patients she likes a lot get to use it”.

 

Sakura glared daggers at the direction she guessed Ino to be in. Thanks a lot, Ino-pig.

 

Neji's voice was dismissive. “Take it away, Yamanaka-san. Please inform Haruno that if she is to competently undertake her duty as a medic, she should be prescribing well documented, medically approved -”.

 

The door to the ward crashed open. Ino squeaked in surprise, almost dropping the tiny bottle of pink liquid she had been holding. For all the acknowledgement Hyuuga Neji provided Sakura however, she could have been a fly on the wall.

 

“Neji-san”, Sakura's voice was granite, and Ino winced inwardly at the emerald fire blazing in her eyes.

 

“You ungrateful prick”.

 

It was said completely quietly and factually, but Ino's jaw dropped. Insulting or deriding a patient to their face, no matter how badly they were behaving, was completely beyond the ethics of the medical profession. Was Sakura begging to be demoted or suspended?

 

For his part, Neji appeared decidedly unimpressed by the roseate kunoichi's silent fury.

 

“Allowing your emotions to run rampant again, Haruno”? he asked softly, pure white eyes meeting Sakura's blazing orbs without a trace of fear or anticipation. “What will it be this time? Perhaps you'll break my arm, so your lackeys will be forced to feed me - that”? he indicated his head toward the bottle, a slight sneer crossing his lip.

 

Break? This time? Ino stared at her two fellow ninjas. What on earth?

 

“Neji-san”. Sakura's voice was soft, one could almost say - gentle. “Last night, you had suffered a concussion that could have resulted in haemorrhaging of your brain. As it is, I had to use a combination of both my and your chakra to stop the swelling in time. As a result, you are almost completely depleted. If you don't take that amateur replenishment medicine as directed, the chakra to your main senses will stop”.

 

Sakura spun, and made to walk out the door.

 

“Oh”, she added without turning. “You may ask for another medication if you wish. But in that case, you will definitely lose your Byakugan. My concoction is the only one acknowledged to be successful in preventing such adverse outcomes for those with such a chakra shortage to the brain and a doujutsu. Your choice, Neji-san”.

 

With that, she exited the room.

 

 

Instead of fury, Sakura was strangely near tears as she stormed from her ungrateful patient's ward.

 

Hearing running feet, she wasn't surprised when Ino caught up to her, matching her long strides.

 

“Forehead girl, what happened between you two”? Ino was genuinely shocked at the tension she had witnessed in the ward a minute ago. “I know you and Neji don't like each other, but honestly…”!

 

Sakura shrugged.

 

“A few weeks ago, Neji was again found unconscious in Konoha's forest. Lee and Tenten were still out there somewhere, but they hadn't returned yet. Neji insisted on going out to find them, despite his own injuries”.

 

Ino raised an eyebrow, knowing there was more to the story than a loyal and somewhat stubborn teammate going out of his way to assist the others.

 

“And I told him that he couldn't go in his condition. He told me I was - pretty much everything he said to you in there. Incompetent, unexceptional, and so on”.

 

Ino groaned. She of all people knew how hard Sakura had worked the last few years in order to escape the `average' label. “So”?

 

“So I paralysed his left leg temporarily, though I told him I broke it”.

 

Ino blinked. “You did that just to stop him going out to help his team? I'm sure there were better ways to prevent his leaving”!

 

“Uh”, Sakura coloured a little, and Ino watched her shrewdly.

 

“He also said that he didn't know how Sasuke had put up with such a mediocre teammate like me, and it was no wonder he left”.

 

“…Oh”.

 

There was silence as the two girls walked down the silent hospital corridors, each lost in their own thoughts. Then Ino suddenly broke into a grin.

 

“Ahhh…that explains a lot”.

 

“Huh”?

 

Ino slipped a comradely arm around her miserable friend's waist.

 

“He'll take the medicine, forehead”, she said cheerfully. You didn't see the petulant look on his face when he was saying all those things about you. He looked like a child sulking. Don't worry about him, ok”?

 

Sakura glared at her blonde friend. “And why the hell would I care what he thinks”?

 

Ino just gave her a knowing smile, and laughed.

 

 

 

A.N. Oops that was much more angsty and serious than I'd intended not quite a `Neji/Saku' is it? Funny how these things turn out!

 

Ah well, constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated, thanks to my reviewers so far. Pinksakurablossom, I promise a Kiba/Saku next time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kiba/Saku

 

Has a horror of being put to sleep, flirts like hell, red doesn't match pink, is experienced at sniffing out poisons and drugs in drink, pulls in for kiss, passes out (odourless drug)

 

Neji/Saku

 

Tsunade tells off Sakura, needs to be undiscriminating in selecting patients, she refuses, etc.

 

Interlude -

 

“Why aren't you using it on Hinata”? Tsunade asked.

 

Sakura looked sheepishly at the little bottle in her hand. The liquid had deepened to a gentle lavender.

 

“I discovered that - I'm just tweaking it a little.

 

“Ah”. Tsunade nodded understandingly. “Then the pink medicine had been designed…”

 

“Especially for Neji, yes”, Sakura sighed.