Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Maneuvers ❯ Chapter Two, Neji/Saku ( Chapter 2 )

Shirking One's Duty

 

“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, egotistic ass 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 jerk. There didn't seem to be anything to worry about, and she 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 condescending insolent jackass! 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.

 

“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. What a load of crap. 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, now trying to out-calm the other. She had the strange feeling that she was missing something. 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”.

 

Neji frowned, but before he could say a word, Sakura spun and made to walk out the door.

 

“Oh”, she added without turning. “You may ask for another certified medication if you wish. But in that case, your head will continue to swell, larger than it is now, that is, and you will definitely lose your Byakugan. I mixed that medicine especially to prevent such adverse outcomes for yo - for those with 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 an incompetent teammate like me, and it was no wonder he left”.

 

“…Oh”.

 

“I should have just let him go”, Sakura muttered. “Or maybe I will take that mixture back. Then I wouldn't have had to bother with him again”. She mused for a while, glancing at Ino's speculative expression.

 

“Maybe I'll make it a condition that I only treat him when he's unconscious or too drugged to know it's me?”

 

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. “His words were harsh, but 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, still debating whether to continue with this, so constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated, thanks to my reviewers so far. Pinksakurablossom, I promise a Kiba/Saku next time