The spring flower Neji FF

Chapter 35

When Akina arrived in Sunagakure the next day, she was greeted by Temari. The Uchiha had made some breaks but she had taken her time. After all, the genin had three days to get there and not everyone managed this distance in one day. Especially not if you took several breaks and had no stamina.

"Hello Gaara.", Akina greeted him friendly. "It's been a long time since I've seen you," came from him, smiling himself. Akina was the second person after Naruto who captured his heart. From time to time he had seen her here in Suna when she had her missions. In Konoha, he knew how the residents reacted to her and would not have thought it was possible in Suna as well. "Thank you for letting me look at everything from here."

Gaara looked at the Uchiha and nodded slightly. "I couldn't have refused your request. Tsunade told me that you would only support her and not interfere. With the other Jonin, I had to take other measures." "You don't have to explain it to me. I would have understood even if you had refused." Akina just sat down on a chair which caused Temari to yell at her. "Temari's fine." said Gaara as he raised his hand a little. "You can't change her so don't even try." Somewhat offended, the blonde turned around. She can get away with anything it seemed. Inside she knew how the Uchiha was. She couldn't be resented for soss long.

"Have you heard anything from Naruto or Sasuke?" the Kazekage asked his counterpart who shook her head. "Unfortunately no, but I think they'll be fine," she smiled. If she was honest, she hadn't thought about them for a long time.

In the last months she had been too busy. Missions, training, and then missions again. It had been a good distraction for her. "I didn't mean to hurt you.", Gaara spoke when he saw their saddened look. "No it isn't. It's been a long time since I thought about her," Akina admitted. Gaara nodded in understanding, not wanting her to focus on that right now. "If you want, I'll show you your room where you can spend the night." Joyfully, she looked at Gaara and nodded. It was nice of him to take it over and take care of her.

The last teams had arrived and could still eat together. There were many strong opponents to watch out for. Neji was quite confident and had watched each one. It was not easy to see through all of them. The next day, when Gaara gave a short speech on how to behave in the desert, Neji listened carefully.

Even though his friends were not stupid, he had to take the lead most of the time. For him it was not bad but TenTen and Lee always trusted him in this matter. Before the second test started, the teams were allowed to prepare and get some things they needed. Even if they had to search for food and something drinkable in the desert, they were allowed to take a little something from the village. The desert was one of the most dangerous places and if you went in without a plan, you would already be lost.

"Good luck out there," Akina said when she was with her team. From here on out, she wouldn't be able to see her friends for a long time. "Thanks a lot Akina. We'll be fine," Lee said confidently. Even though Akina knew they could do it she was seriously worried. From Gaara, she was allowed to look at the teams' files and saw some that could cause them problems. However, she was not allowed to tell them anything so there would be no violations.

"Hey Neji, do you have a moment?" asked the Uchiha. "I'll be right there," Neji said to the others who nodded briefly and started heading for the gate. "What's wrong?" he asked Akina. "I..wanted to tell you something.", she brought out after searching for the right words. "And what?" he asked, waiting patiently. He could tell she was having a hard time.

 Akina suddenly couldn't tell him anymore. She was far too afraid that he would reject her. But if anything happened in the desert, she would regret it. "Akina?" Her gaze rose and smiled at the huyga. She didn't want him to know what was going on inside her right now. "I have to go or we'll be disqualified." Akina nodded and excused herself. "Just tell me when I get back," he smiled and turned his back to her.

Again, the thought that something might happen occurred to her and she breathed quickly. She couldn't just let him go like that. "Hey Neji!" she shouted and ran towards him as he turned around questioningly. He couldn't even open his mouth as he suddenly felt her lips on his. Briefly his eyes widened which closed after he realized what was going on. Akina put as much emotion into the kiss as she could and felt his hands on her hips. Unfortunately, Akina had to break away from him. If he didn't come in time her team would be disqualified. "Take care of yourselves, will you?" she asked him softly. "I will.", the Hyuga smiled and stroked her cheek with his thumb before making his way to the others.

Even if for him this kiss came so suddenly, his heart still beat like wild. It had triggered so many feelings in him which he could not explain. In the desert he would always think. It made him strong that his girl was waiting for him.

He would come back to her and finally tell her that he loved her!