#nejisaku | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

a-ghost-that-writes · 3 months

Text

Neji x Sakura Fluff!

For: @narutorarepaireventhub and Neji x Sakura Weekend

Prompt: Who Will Confess First?!

Nervous? Neji Hyuuga? To think such a guy like him could be nervous was a shock to everyone involved. He was going to do it; he was going to ask Sakura to be his girlfriend. When Lee and Tenten prodded enough they learned of what he wanted to do and offered their full support. He even talked to Hinata about it and she too gave a vote of confidence for him to go through with it.

Still, his nerves were getting the better of him. He had asked her to meet him at the old training grounds where they would practice sparring sometimes. The sun was going down and he was gathering all the courage he could when he saw her. She was sitting on a tree stump and waved when he saw her.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me Sakura." He greeted.

"Sure no problem Neji." She replied. "What's up, what did you want to meet about?"

"I wanted to tell you something..." He started to blush. "Something- rather important..."

"Important huh~?" She teased. "Is that why you're blushing?"

He started to pout at her teasing but cleared his throat. "I mean it. It is important."

"Alright then, let it out."

Neji felt his nerve hit his face, it was the moment of truth. "I- wanted to tell you.. How I truly feel about you Sakura." He began. "It's- strange for me but, whenever I'm around you- I just feel so-... So happy!"

Sakura started to blush as Neji spoke.

"You're strong, you're beautiful, at times I can't stop thinking about you..." Neji continued. "I'm-... I'm in love with you Sakura." He confessed.

Sakura's eyes went wide as she continued to blush. The both of them were blushing right now. The awkward silence between them except for the birds chirping. Sakura finally decided to speak up.

"Wow... I didn't know you felt that way Neji..." She told him.

"Yeah..." Neji replied.

"And honestly? I've felt the same way." She confessed.

His eyes went wide. "R-Really?"

She nodded. "Y-Yeah! I mean- I really like when we get to spar together. But even more than that, I really like you as a person too Neji. Your brave, your really kind... Not to mention attractive." She laughed a little.

"What about-"

"I know, about Naruto and Sasuke..." Sakura said. "I love them, I do. But they've moved on and they're happy now... So, I think it's finally time I do the same." She said while walking over to him. "And I want to do that with you Neji." She held her hands with his.

Neji was surprised by her reaction, but was able to smile back at her. He held her hands as well and nodded. "I'd be happy to." He told her. 'Would you like to grab dinner with me?"

She nodded. "Let's do it."

#Naruto fanfiction #Naruto oneshot #NejiSaku #Neji x Sakura

15 notes · View notes

riversimmone · 3 months

Text

Of Hope

RiverOfTheSand

Summary:

He woke surrounded by a flock of birds. Each one a reminder of the life he'd lived. Of the sacrifice he'd made. Neji had come back to life. He was here. No longer caged. For her.

Notes:

For the Neji x Sakura Weekend on @narutorarepaireventhub. Prompt: The Caged Bird Uncaged For The Blossom. I hope you enjoy. :)

End chapter notes:

I had a blast writing this. It took me all day but I got through it. @narutorarepaireventhub is a blog on tumblr dedicated to monthly events for rare Naruto ships. So thank-you to them for hosting this or I'd never have written this and it was so fun and fluffy to do. Thankyou so much for reading. :)

This is also on AO3 and FF.NET.

Of Hope.

Neji Hyuuga woke surrounded by a flock of birds.

Cries of hawks in the distance. Sounds of people nearby talking. He blinked heavily, slowly coming out of his sleep. It was as though he was coming out of a dream-like state, but he'd already forgotten the dream.

The birds.

He winced, pulling himself to sit up. The quality of the hospital bed left much to be desired but the smell of chemicals and itching from the linen told him he was alive.

Not dead.

His hand went immediately to his forehead. Neji had always been aware of a feel of residual chakra simmering on his head that served to remind him that the Caged Bird Seal ruled his fate. His whole life it had been there and he never needed Lord Hiashi to activate the seal to remind him.

Weird. He could no longer feel it. Had he truly died? The cage had been opened. Or destroyed, he wasn't sure which was more accurate.

Neji blinked heavily again, sleep clouding his eyes. He almost forgot he was surrounded by birds.

Paper birds.

Dozens of them, hanging from the ceiling by what he presumed were a number of chakra threads. How and why thoughts plagued him. And if any of it could possibly have been approved by the head of the hospital.

It was then that Neji realised this was not the Konohagakure hospital. He had lingering memories of that place, as though his unconscious mind had reached out to touch it while his body healed. But he did not remember being moved from it.

His linen was soft. The room was temperate and there were no chemical smells assaulting his nose. His senses and memories had merged to play tricks on him.

Neji sighed and reached out to touch the closest hanging bird. It took the shape of a falcon and opened up to a small inscription in familiar handwriting.

Strange.

Falcon birds symbolised vision and protection. The irony of which were not lost on Neji. It was from his uncle, speaking on the wisdom of sacrifice and protection.

He could only guess that flowers had somehow gone out of style while he lay unconscious and almost dying. Though this alternative to the traditional "get well" gift was preferable. It felt more intimate. More personal. But not gaudy. And by people who'd taken the time to get to know him and adjusted their gift accordingly.

From my friends.

They'd had a meeting about this, he decided, imagining someone like Lee gathering everyone together and looking for "youthful" gift ideas for his extended hospital stay. Which had clearly turned into a more private location as his body was no longer in critical condition. All of this was just a supposition, however.

Neji returned his attention to the paper birds. He wondered if he could tell which bird had been chosen by whom, by what the avian symbolised. Each bird came from someone, with a hastily written line or paragraph about him.

About me.

Neji swallowed down his emotion and cleared his throat, forcing himself to read the cards without internalising them. HIs body protested the movements as he rose from the bed and forced it to reach up to each gift. His eyes darted over the bird shaped cards as he took it all in, subconsciously looking for one in particular, perhaps neatly arranged differently from the others and by a certain pink haired kunoichi.

One miracle is enough for one day.

He tampered down those thoughts.

His teammates were an easy guess since he knew them all so well.

Pigeon. Friendship.

Tenten, the girl he'd thought of as a potential partner once upon a time before she blew him off and proved they were better off as friends. Of course her card represented friendship and her note emphasised it. But it was welcomed, nonetheless.

Cranes. Hope.

But they also stood for youth and longevity, so it was no surprise to see his sensei's script on the card, alongside Lee's. Together they told him not to waste his youth in this second chance and to cherish every single day.

He waded through the rest of them, unable to temper his emotions as each one brought on a new wave of regret and humility. Naruto and Hinata had crafted a few together, no doubt her skill and not his. But they were beautiful and Hinata-sama's elegant script made him feel loved. Even Naruto's hastily scrawled signature couldn't detract from the beauty of it.

The phoenix of myth. Rebirth. He smiled at that one.

Bluebird. Happiness.

Cousin Hanabi. All she'd ever wanted, even in her most standoffish moments, was for the happiness of their clan. Conditioned and groomed to view it from the top of the tree where her kindness went mostly unseen, she had more in common with Hinata than most people thought.

His teammates. His family. Then his friends, as Neji scoured the messages from what was now referred to as the Konoha Eleven. He made it to the last one, his heart dropping.

Not hers.

There was no representation for whatever she thought of him, in the symbology of birds? He stared at the pile he'd made of the birds on the bed, frowning. Tugging on them lightly had freed them from their chakra strings, and perhaps he was reading too much into it but this felt like symbolism yet again.

But not hers.

He could not and should not be fixating on this. His heart was heavy enough. But Neji could not let the disappointment go. He pushed the birds aside.

With them out of the way, he finally took the time to recognise the decor of the Hyuuga Estate in the design of the room, but this space was unfamiliar. He must be in one of the side rooms of the main branch that he'd never seen before. His mind raced with the possibilities.

Neji was snapped out of his suspicions by a knock on the door.

Immediately, her chakra flared. The familiar warmth of it calmed him even as it sent his heart racing in anticipation.

"Come in," he said, happy that his voice did not betray his anxiety.

Sakura Haruno peered around the door, seemingly alone. Her face broke into an angelic smile when she spotted him and shuffled into the room, closing the door behind her.

His eyes raked over her body, looking for any hint that this was real. She appeared much unchanged from the young woman he remembered from the last time he saw her. Hair short and pushed back. Clothes complimentary to her figure. Hesitantly and kindness in her smile in the unfamiliar situation.

Sakura waved at the birds on his bed. "I see you've read them all."

He just nodded.

Sakura cleared her throat, one hand behind her back as she moved toward him and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I... I wanted to give you mine in person." Her face flushed, her hands trembling slightly, Sakura handed the paper bird to him. Their fingers brushed, hesitated, and then linked together for a moment. White eyes met green and they held fast to one another, neither wanting to shift away. But ultimately, he had to look down to find out what bird she carved while thinking of him.

Doves symbolise love.

It was cliche but he didn't care. Her fingers entwined with his, holding him gently, her thumb rubbing circles over the palm of his hand absentmindedly. For a moment he just held her lightly until she seemed to come to herself and pull away.

Was it friendship? Had he misinterpreted once again?

"How about I get you out of here?" She asked.

"I would like that."

Neji had so many questions. What had happened? Who had been looking after him? Where was everyone else? And so many more. He took stock of the room and found an acceptable dark slate gray kimono-shirt and long trousers to wear, then showered as Sakura waited outside the room and met her at the door. His body was still weak but remnants of her chakra were allegedly still in his system. She'd massaged his muscles daily, she said, which caused Neji's face to tinge pink.

They walked around the Hyuuga Estate, leaving the wings of the main branch and slowly doing the rounds of the branch domiciles before circling back toward where Hiashi was waiting for him. And as they walked, Sakura answered his unasked questions, her arm supporting his weight with her super strength as he struggled not to trip over every pebble and blade of grass.

He almost lost himself in her voice.

Neji appreciated the long way around she was taking him. The pain had eased considerably and the warmth of his carer had lulled him into a form of serenity.

"Let's stop for a moment," she said, and manoeuvred them toward a bench.

Neji recognised it as the bench he'd often sat on while watching main branch Hyuuga spar. Not the head main family of course; he didn't have permission back then. It was only when Hinata became a genin and would move her sparring sessions outdoors that Neji was able to watch.

And realise how much better he was.

He sighed as his bum hit the hard surface of the bench and Sakura sat gracefully next to him.

"I know I said I was taking you to see Hiashi," she said. "But I think I want to have you to myself for a while, first, if you don't mind?"

He shook his head. "I am at your disposal, Haruno-san."

"Please, Neji, call me Sakura. We're not formal with each other."

Had he forgotten a relationship with her where they were close friends or was she remembering their past wrong? He didn't dare ask.

"Of course," he said instead. "Sakura-san."

She giggled and leaned into him. "Better, but not quite there. Drop the san."

"Of course." He hesitated as she raised an eyebrow at him. "Sakura."

She smiled at him brightly and Neji returned the affection. Then she was leaning against him, her head on his shoulder, her arm wrapped around his.

He pondered what alternate reality he'd wandered into. One where Sakura Haruno felt comfortable holding onto him and apparently they were close friends? Close enough to drop the honorifics and spend time together like they'd done this a hundred times before.

Neji liked it, despite how surprising it felt.

He'd always kept her at arm's length. The girl who loved the Uchiha was out of his league. She would never be his. But for right now, none of that was true, it seemed. Sakura trembled slightly and then coaxed his arm to wrap around her shoulders, leaning more into him. Into his warmth.

Neji had been staring at her so intently he didn't notice why she'd chosen this spot.

He looked up.

The orange of the setting sun was just peeking over the main house.

He looked back down at Sakura, who had angled her face to watch the sunset.

Beautiful.

He looked back up again, not wanting to get caught staring. But as he leaned back into the support of the bench, Sakura's arms tightened around him. He took this as a silent assent that this was the beginning of something for them too.

Neji had come back to life. He was here. No longer caged.

For her.

#NejiSaku #Neji x Sakura #fanfiction #my ao3 #narutorarepaireventhub #Neji x Sakura Weekend #All images are not mine

9 notes · View notes