A/N: All right, I'm so bad...I've been trying to get the second chapter of my Neji vs. National Holidays series together, but I keep brain farting... So now, I'm just going to continue with The Fifth Element, because it's amazing that way :).

Oh and thank you so much for your reviews! It made me very happy to hear that you enjoyed the story so much!

Sorry I suddenly and without explanation removed chapter 7 from the story...I randomly decided to split the whole thing into parts to keep the chapters in an even number of words, but I just gave up on that because I'd be heading into a three part chapter. So, enjoy this extra long chapter!

Chapter 7: Wonderland

Tenten opened her eyes. It's today! She thought happily. It was the day she would be meeting Neji at Konoha's Wonderland.

Wait...I'll be meeting NEJI? Tenten's brow furrowed. I'll be meeting everyone there...but why did I specifically think Neji?

Tenten dragged herself out of bed and ran into the shower. She took her usual half-hour shower in five minutes. Then she pulled on her clothes after putting her swimsuit on, and ran down for breakfast. She glared impatiently at the toaster as she waited for the toast to cook.

Tenten smiled as she recalled a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip about bread and toast.

*slide 1*

Calvin: Wanna see something weird?

*slide two*

Calvin (is putting a piece of bread in the toaster): Watch. You put bread in this slot and push down this lever...

*slide three*

Calvin (Watching the toast pop out of the toaster): Then in a few minutes, toast pops up!

*slide four*

Hobbes (looking into the toaster): Wow. Where does the bread go?

Calvin: Beats me. Isn't that weird?

The toast burst forth from the toaster and Tenten caught the pieces in mid-air. When she hit the foyer, Tenten grabbed the knapsack she had prepared with a towel, and several other things she may need at the theme park and ran out of the house.


Neji pulled a shirt over his head. He wasn't vain but he stared into his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Am I really about to go into public with my band and play a concert at Konoha's Wonderland, then go on a whole bunch of rides? He thought to himself. Neji brushed out his long brown hair before tying it back.

"I must be out of my mind..." He murmured to himself.

"Neji! Hurry up in there!" Itachi's voice cried from the other side of the door.

Neji smirked and opened the door. "Sorry, your prince, it's all yours." He taunted easily.

"Very funny," Itachi growled.

Neji waited. He then heard the sound of the shower curtain being pulled away.

Itachi screamed. "HOLY SHIT!"

Neji laughed.

Shikamaru, Sasuke and Naruto appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked eagerly.

Itachi came out of the bathroom with no shirt on, carrying a fake, but very realistic looking rat.

"Come on, Neji, really?"

Neji laughed again.

Itachi shook his head and tossed the rat at Neji.

Neji caught it, still laughing.

"What's so funny, Neji?" Naruto asked.

Neji turned to them from the top of the stairs.

"Catch," Neji tossed the fake rat down the stairs at them.

Naruto caught it and yelped, the rat flying from his hands and onto the floor.

Neji collapsed to the floor laughing, and trying to hold onto the stair railing for support.

Sasuke looked up at Neji. "You are cruel."

Itachi was always the last person to have a shower in the morning. Why? Because he took so damn long. Neji and Shikamaru were able to have a full game of Shougi and declare a winner by the time Itachi was out of the shower.

Sasuke broke into a coughing fit the moment Itachi entered the room. Neji realized why after a few seconds. He covered his nose and mouth with his hand. Naruto was holding his breath, Shikamaru was keeled over retching.

"Did you spill that on yourself?" Neji gasped.

Itachi looked at them. "What?"

"All I can smell is aftershave!" Shikamaru cried.

Itachi glanced at the wall.

"Go wash it off!" Neji ordered. "I'm not letting you in my car smelling like that. We'll all be dead by the time we reach the theme park."

Itachi rolled his eyes and went back upstairs.


Tenten, Temari, Sakura and Hinata stood in Konoha Wonderland's parking lot just outside their car. They had been told where to park by Neji. The group of boys that should have already been there hours ago were nowhere to be seen.

"There they are!" Temari cried. She was gazing at a silver car that was pulling into a parking lot. Tenten had no idea how she knew that they were in the silver car, but the vehicle pulled into the parking space beside them, and out popped Neji.

"Hey, sorry we're late." He told them.

"Itachi decided to take a forty minute shower this morning." Shikamaru said, leaning on the roof of the car from the passenger's side.

"Then he spilled his cologne on himself-" Naruto added.

"HEY! That's classified!" Itachi cried as he stepped out of the car.

The group of girls laughed.

"You forgot about the rat you left in the shower, Neji!" Itachi glared at him.

"Harmless fun," Neji replied. "Hurry up. We're going to be late.

Tenten popped the trunk on her car. She had promised the band that she would take half of Naruto's drum set in her car, as there wasn't enough room in Neji's trunk to fit the whole thing.

"This is how you know we're not famous." Sasuke muttered, pulling his bass from the back of the car and strapping it across his back.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"We have to bring our equipment in our own cars, and arrange for someone else to assist us in taking the larger stuff." Sasuke replied.

"You mean we don't have our own official transportation?" Itachi said.

Sasuke nodded. "We don't have our own tour bus."

Shikamaru laughed. "I hope we never get a tour bus. I'm enjoying our 'straight-out-of-the-garage' status."

Neji nodded in agreement, propping his microphone stand over his shoulder.


Tenten, Temari, Sakura and Hinata stood in the front row of the gathering crowd to watch the performances. Their favourite band, gee I wonder who, had guaranteed them a spot in the front row if they were willing to take it.

They took it.

"I wonder when they'll be coming on." Temari asked excitedly.

"They're on last." Hinata said softly, looking through the guide she had picked up from somewhere.

"LAST?" Temari cried. "Aw man!"

Slowly, bands of all shapes and sizes went on stage. The first one was an all girls hip-hop sing-and-dance type group. A few others came up who were rock groups as well.

"How much longer, Hina-chan?" Temari asked excitedly.

"Only five more left," came the reply. Hinata had been scratching off every band that went by with a pen she had brought along.

Tenten shifted impatiently then looked at the time.

It's only nine o'clock now...There's still plenty of time to go on rides!

Twenty minutes passed and Hinata suddenly began to jump with excitement.

"They're on now!" She cried.

"Finally!" Temari cried.

Tenten began to get butterflies of excitement in her stomach.

"Ooooh I'm so excited!" Sakura cried, wiggling with excitement.

Finally, the announcer began to speak.

"This is the last performance of the day. These boys have already played one concert in Konoha. There aren't many steps between them and the garage they've been practicing in for however long they've been at it, but here is The Fifth Element!"

Tenten, Hinata, Temari and Sakura began to cheer.


"Shh!" Itachi hissed suddenly.

Neji suddenly realized what he was shushing about.

"Those are our girls aren't they?" Shikamaru asked with a smile on his face.

Itachi laughed. The curtains suddenly opened.

"Big crowd!" Naruto cried from behind his drum set.

Shikamaru hit a chord on his guitar and got absolutely no sound. He frowned and tried again. And again.

"Oh great. What a drag..." He sighed.

"Technical difficulties." Neji said into his microphone and walked over to Shikamaru to try to help him.

The crowd was dead silent as they tried to figure out what was wrong with Shikamaru's amp.

"Kick it." Sasuke suggested. "That always works."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes as the crowd started to chuckle.

Neji began to check the wire. He tracked it all the way down to the outlet. It was intact. Neji unplugged it for a moment, then plugged it back in.

"Try it now!" Neji told them.

Shikamaru slapped the strings. Nothing happened.

Itachi flipped the amp off and turned it back on. Randomly he flicked Shikamaru's guitar with his finger. Nothing happened. Then he went over to his own amp and slapped his guitar. His amp worked.

"I'm telling you! Just kick it!" Sasuke cried.

"Oh right, like that's going to work!" Shikamaru cried, but he delivered a harsh kick to the amp anyway. The amp suddenly emitted a loud screeching sound. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and slapped the strings on his guitar. It worked.

"HAHA! I will never doubt you again buddy!" Shikamaru cried and slapped Sasuke on the back.

"Instant repair blow!" Itachi cried. "No repair man needed."

The crowd laughed.

"Can we just start?" Neji asked them stepping up to his mic.

Shikamaru began to play the powerful chords of the song that they had just written two months ago. It was a very up-beat piece that if played at a dance, would get everybody on the dance floor. Itachi joined in harmony a few moments later. Naruto continued to pound away on his drums.

Neji added his voice to the seemingly random mix of music, and smiled on the inside when he received a good five hundred cheers in response. A momentary pause and Itachi threw in a two-second solo before the chorus began. Chorus done. Naruto pounded out his own solo. Neji began the second verse, knowing full well what came after the second chorus in the bridge/ending. Personally, he couldn't wait.

Shikamaru screeched his guitar before the second chorus. Neji ended the second chorus with an incredibly long note that he held steadily for as long as he possibly could. Moments later, Sasuke stepped forward in the din of silence and performed a complicated bass solo, complete with slap bass. Thirty seconds later, he stepped back and Shikamaru leapt forward and soloed. The crowd cheered. Shikamaru continued to solo, but with only one hand, while he raised his other hand into the air to get the crowd to cheer louder. Shikamaru shot the crowd the thumbs up, and continued with his solo. After his thirty seconds Naruto took off making real music with the drums. Neji could swear he was actually playing notes. Naruto pounded out George of the Jungle for several seconds before going full out on the suspended symbols and hi-hat. After Naruto's thirty seconds, Itachi slid into sight on his knees and went full out on his guitar. The notes were jumbled, but they still had rhyme and melody to it. However, it was just as rapid and jumbled as AC/DC's Thunderstruck. Itachi let his final note ring out and screech, then everyone holding an instrument played a final chord, or in Naruto's case bring their drumsticks straight down onto the symbols, to end the song.

Cheers erupted from the crowd. Neji, Shikamaru, Naruto, Sasuke and Itachi walked into the middle of the stage and slapped a high five for five.

"We owned." Naruto said simply.

"Yes we did." Itachi replied.

"Not a half bad beginning either." Shikamaru added with a laugh. "That was not deliberate, believe me."

"I know." Neji replied.

"Now what?" Sasuke asked.

"We stick everything back in the car, and we go on rides." Neji said simply.


Tenten and Neji lifted Naruto's massive bass drum and set it lightly in the back of Tenten's car.

"And we're done!" Tenten said happily. "Which ride's first?"

Tenten didn't like the wicked grins that suddenly appeared on her friends faces.

"Oh no..." Neji cried. "No, no, no, no, no!"

"Yes!" Itachi taunted.

"No..." Neji cried.

Sasuke and Itachi grabbed Neji.

"Yes." Sasuke said in his ear. Then they began to drag him away.

"Come on, Tennie!" Sakura said with sugar on top.

Oh no... Tenten thought to herself.


Five minutes later, the group was standing in line for Drop Zone. The 230-foot tower pierced the clear blue sky far above their heads.

Tenten could have sworn Neji's face went pale when the seats that had taken thirty seconds to get to the top suddenly dropped towards the ground.

"You don't look so good Tenten." Sasuke commented.

"I hate falling..." She said softly.

Eventually, but too early for Tenten and Neji's tastes, they were at the front of the line.

"Guys, I'm not going on this thing..." Neji told them

"It's fine Neji." Itachi told him, his eyes dancing with excitement.

"Haven't you heard of the woman who got scalped on a Drop Zone ride because her hair got caught in the rigging?" Neji asked him.

Itachi rolled his eyes.

Tenten looked at Neji. He really didn't want to go on this ride.

"Neji, I'll go on with you if it makes you feel better." Tenten told him.

Neji shook his head. "I don't like falling. If you were to put me on a beam over top of a five hundred meter drop, I wouldn't move at all not because I can't take the height, but because I don't want to fall."

Tenten nodded. "I get that. That's how I feel, so if it makes you feel any better..."

"Forget it Neji." Sasuke said easily. "You're going on Drop Zone."

Neji sighed. "Fine, but I get to pick the next one."

Neji was too upset to feel anything now.

Sasuke agreed to his terms, and Neji smiled to himself. Neji knew Sasuke's fear like the back of his hand.

The group of nine stepped into the drop area and took their seats. Neji pulled the thing that would keep him from falling to his death over his head. He would just close his eyes and pretend that everything was all right while he was on this ride.

Tenten sat beside him and began taking deep breaths to calm herself.

"I wouldn't flood your brain with oxygen if I were you." Neji told her. "It may just wake you up more so you feel the whole thing more."

Tenten stopped breathing. "What do you suggest I do then?"

"Close your eyes and hope it'll be over in a few seconds."

Tenten nodded and closed her eyes.

The seats jerked and the ride began to lift the group into the air. Neji's heart began to pound in his chest.

"Oh hell, oh hell, oh hell..." He heard Tenten muttering.

"Tenten," Neji began to attempt to make conversation with her so he could get his mind off the coming drop. "How's your fear of heights?"

"I don't have one...I love high places." She said faintly her eyes staring out into the distance.

"How would you like to ride the Behemoth next then?"

Tenten smiled at him. "Hell yes!"

Neji laughed. "For the record, Itachi and Sasuke are terrible with heights."

"So is Sakura." Tenten said easily. They were now at the top of the ride, and they barely even noticed. They felt quite calm and content just sitting on that ride making idle chatter with each other.

"I still remember that time when-" Tenten began but was cut off by the ride operator taunting them from his booth via, the speaker, while they were at the top of Drop Zone.

He sang: A, B, C, D, E, F, G.

You will drop in one, two, three.

The floor dropped out from beneath Tenten and Neji. Tenten gave a small cry of shock and went dead silent for the rest of the way down. Neji groaned as the ride slowed down. He let his chin fall to his chest as he tried to steady his churning gut.

Tenten let out a moan. "That was awful..."

Then the ride operator said the words that neither Tenten, nor Neji wanted to hear.

Who wants to go again? The voice came through the speaker.

"No! No! No! No! No!" Neji and Tenten cried. The crowd around them was laughing at them, but they didn't care.

You all want to go again? The cheers from everyone else practically drowned out Neji and Tenten's protests.

All right, out you go.

The ride released them and Neji and Tenten wasted no time shoving the safety devices off them and making a beeline for the exit.

Their friends followed them all the way to a bench where Tenten hit the ground and Neji collapsed onto a bench.
"Geeze guys..." Itachi began. "You guys really don't like falling do you?"

Tenten was now kissing the ground. "I love you earth!" She was saying. "I will never leave you again!"

The group was laughing at her.


Neji and Tenten finally got their heads on straight. It was then that Neji began leading the group towards the Behemoth. The tallest goddamned ride in the entire theme park. Actually, it was the same height as Drop Zone, but it wasn't a straight down drop. It was an angle of seventy-five degrees towards the ground. Tenten and Neji were determined to get front row seats to this experience.

"You're kidding me Neji..." Itachi's voice was quivering slightly. "Out of all the rides you could have picked, you had to pick the biggest one."

Neji grinned evilly.

Neji and Tenten couldn't wait to get to the front of the line. Luckily, for them, they were dead in front when their time came to board the coaster. The ride operator rushed them forward when the next train rolled to a stop and emptied. Shikamaru and Naruto helped to drag Itachi and Sasuke onto the ride. Sakura got on by herself, but that didn't mean she liked it. Neji and Tenten took the very front of the car. Shikamaru and Temari, who were incredibly enthusiastic about the ride sat right behind them, followed by Naruto and Hinata in the next car, in the two seats behind them were Sasuke and Sakura, then Itachi with some girl he didn't even know and two others behind him. Theme park rides will get you to sit beside anybody if you really want to get on it.

Neji and Tenten began to whoop when the train lurched forward. Neji glanced around at the cars that didn't have any walls on them. The only thing keeping the passengers in place was a single safety bar that went right over your lap and rendered your thighs immobile.

They began to go up the cable hill. The first part of the ride that was also the slowest and dullest part.

"Ever wondered why it takes so long just to get to the top of the first hill?" Shikamaru's voice reached Tenten's ears.

"Yeah," Tenten replied. "It's to get you hyped up for the ride right?"

They were now half way up the hill.

Shikamaru was glancing around as the world began to peel away from them as they continued up the 230-foot hill.

"I think," Neji piped up suddenly, examining the world around them as they neared the top. "I think they make it take this long so you can think to yourself..." They began to crest the hill.

"What the hell have I gotten myself into?" Neji finished easily as he stared straight down the seventy-five degree angle, straight at the green grass below.

"OH MY GOD!" Itachi's voice sliced through the air as the train began to speed up and shoot towards the ground at 125 kilometres per hour.

Neji and Tenten screamed as loud as they could, but hanging on to their seats with a white-knuckle grip. When the scream was over, they were laughing most of the time. Shikamaru erupted in a cry of shock every time the car crested the hill. Temari laughed at him every time.

"I'M GONNA DIE! I'M GONNA DIE!" They heard Sasuke's voice screaming from a car back.

Tenten looked at Neji. His hair flew straight out behind him in a violent wave.

Shikamaru suddenly grabbed the end of Neji's hair and tore out his hair tie.

"Hey!" Neji cried.

"It was coming out! I swear!" Shikamaru replied as they shot around the first curve, turning around 180 degrees to shoot back over several more hills and valleys. Neji didn't worry about his hair tie anymore. He was just enjoying the ride.

Neji suddenly looked at her, his eyes dancing and a stupid grin on his face. Tenten's heart practically leapt out of her chest. Tenten had never actually taken a good look at Neji's face before. And in the split second they made eye contact, Tenten took the whole thing in. His nose was perfectly straight, his cheekbones were high, and his mouth wasn't too big, or too small. His pale eyes danced like sunlight on fresh clean snow on a crisp winter day.

Tenten turned back to the ride as she was thrown forward when they went back up a hill. She would focus on the ride now, lest she get whiplash from getting completely out of it.

The final tracks for the ride were then laid out before them. They went around the toilet bowl loop, looped again in the other direction a few moments later, went over a final hill, before slowing and coming to a stop back at the rides entrance.

"You're dead!" Itachi's voice cut through the air again. "You're dead, Neji! You're dead! You're dead! You're dead!"

The safety bar released them and Itachi, Sakura and Sasuke booked it out of the train.

"Yes!" Neji whispered and pumped his fists triumphantly. "Payback success!"


Once Itachi regained his sanity, he slapped Neji across the face.

"You son of a gun!" Neji cried. "What was that for?"

Itachi was walking away.

"You put me on Drop Zone and I didn't slap you, you bastard!" Neji rubbed his stinging cheek with the back of his hand.

It was now eleven o'clock in the morning, and everybody was unsure of what to do next.

"Let's go to the water park!" Naruto kept saying.

The others were trying to figure out something to do other than go to the water park. They had all brought their swimsuits, but it wasn't as if they were all totally comfortable with showing them off to the people who had just become their friends.

The fact was that the girls still had their crushes on the band, and the band...well. Perhaps they knew that, perhaps they didn't. Either way, they knew that some of their real fans were hanging around, and they really didn't feel like ending up on someone's facebook page with the caption: Look at him! He's so hot! Beneath their picture.

Finally, they officially decided there was nothing else to do and went for the water park.


They stood outside of Konoha Wonderland's 'Splash City' as it was called, staring in at the massive wading pool that many toddlers were splashing around in, the massive swimming pool, the ever present lazy river, the even larger wave pool, and finally, the massive water slides.

The girls quickly forgot their shyness and ran in. The band decided that the fan girls could get a life, and followed them in.

They stood by the giant swimming pool complete with three diving boards, one low, one medium and one really high one.

"Last one in buys the sushi!" Itachi cried and began tearing off his shoes. The band followed Itachi's display as if this was protocol. Next thing the girls knew, five shirtless boys stood before them, and they hit the water seconds later.

Itachi hit first, followed closely by Neji, then Shikamaru and Sasuke. Naruto hit last.

"Come on guys! I bought last time!" Naruto cried as he surfaced.

Tenten began to laugh. She realized that they were serious about 'last one in buys the sushi'. Tenten wondered how many times they've gone through a competition like that.

The girls began to pull off their shoes. The boys were now having an all out water war and weren't paying any attention, so they had some peace of mind as they flashed their brightly coloured bikini's and leapt into the water.

Tenten felt a surge of joy as the cold water washed over her body. She loved to swim. It was the only time that she ever felt truly free. For her, it was like growing a pair of wings and flying. She dove beneath the water and swam happily, goggles over her eyes. She was able to see where she was going, and she swam like a fish, pulling corkscrews, flips, and swimming on her back, gazing at the sky through the water. She grazed the bottom, and corkscrewed again.

Then her chest began to hurt. Regardless of how much she felt like a fish, she would never be one. She was a mammal and she would always be a mammal. And so, she needed oxygen in gaseous form in order to survive. She surfaced and exhaled the carbon dioxide that had built up in her lungs and breathed easily.

"Hey, Tennie, we were wondering where you went." Neji laughed, for some reason, using her nickname.

"I was swimming." Tenten said simply, breast stroking over to the group.

"We're going to start heading for the diving board now," Itachi piped up.

"Says the man who screamed like a girl on the Behemoth." Sakura said sarcastically.

Itachi went beet red.

Sasuke laughed at him. "I heard it all."

"S-Shut up..." Itachi muttered.

The group got out of the pool and walked to the diving boards.

"We're all using the medium one!" Naruto declared. "The big one's too big and the little one is too small."

The group agreed to Naruto's conditions.

Naruto climbed up the medium one and enthusiastically ran across it, and with a cry of "CANNON BALL!" he leapt off the diving board, curled into the fetal position, and hit the water with a massive splash.

Hinata went next. She wandered to the edge of the diving board, and stared down at the water below. Then she plugged her nose, closed her eyes, and did a pencil dive straight towards the water. Her tiny frame barely made a splash as she hit the water.

Itachi made it on the diving board without having his fear of heights kick in. Then he ran straight across the board screaming, before leaping off the platform, and flailing his arms and legs as if he still had more platform to go. Everyone laughed at him.

Sasuke went next. He jogged to the center, jumped once, landed on the edge of the board, and sprung himself off the board when the diving board recoiled back up, and leapt high into the air. Sasuke's form blocked out the sun, silhouetting him in a way that was completely epic. He curled into a ball and somersaulted once, before straightening himself out into a dive. Sasuke barely made a splash. The group cheered.

"TEN!" Neji cried.

Tenten laughed.

Sakura was now on the diving board. She pulled a graceful swan dive, but didn't stick the landing well. The dive part was perfect though.

Temari stood on the diving board. She quickly did a cartwheel and stopped right on the edge, before flipping herself into the water.

Shikamaru laughed while he climbed up to the platform. He ran straight to the edge, and jumped off the side whooping and spinning like a top, his arm extended outwards creating an interesting effect.

Tenten excitedly climbed the ladder. She knew exactly what she was going to do. Her and her swimming lessons from many years ago told her what to do. Tenten jumped, jumped again on the edge, and finally launched herself off the board exactly how the Olympians do it. Then she went into pike position, spun, somersaulted then hit the water and went straight down. Tenten quickly swam to the surface.

Neji was walking to the end of the board. He stood on the edge, and looked down at the water.

Then he put his legs together, stood up straight, snapped an arm to his side and saluted with the other. He stood like that for a moment. Then Tenten watched as he tipped forward, still frozen in the salute, and tumbled towards the water. He created quite a splash, and he surfaced quickly, flipping the hair from his face.


On the request of Naruto, the group was now standing in line for the large river ride. Once they rode this ride, they would go have lunch, and then they would go on some non-thrill rides, maybe a few more coasters later, and then head home.

Neji was shivering as they stood in line. The wind was chilling their wet bodies quickly. After twenty minutes, which felt like an hour, they reached the front of the line. The group was about to go on the large river raft ride.

"Seats ten." Itachi pointed out. And indeed it did. At least, that was what the sign said.

The group of nine piled into their raft, which was just a round thing, like the teacup ride, with one large seat all the way around.

"It may get a little crazy on the ride, so hang on to the straps on the back of the seat." The operator told them as they drifted towards the beginning of the ride.

The group obliged, stretching their arms out to the straps on the backs of their seats. Tenten tried not to think about Neji's arm behind her shoulder blades. Yes, that was the way they had all seated. On Tenten's left was Itachi, followed by Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Naruto, Temari, Shikamaru, Neji then Tenten again.

The raft exited the boarding station, and instantly dipped and picked up speed.

"Whee," he heard Neji murmur as they zipped down the river.

Their raft bumped the bank and began to rotate in circles.

"Spinney, spinney, what fun." Shikamaru muttered.

The group laughed.

Naruto's eyes suddenly bugged out of his head.

"Guys..." he said. "Pray."

"Why?" Itachi asked. Then he spotted it. "B-Bucket!"

There was a bucket that was getting filled with water from a pipe over it. It didn't take a genius to know how that bucket worked. Once the bucket filled up, it would tip and dump its contents onto any unfortunate soul who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." Sasuke began to say as they approached the bucket. The bucket began to drip, and then it tipped right onto Sakura's head.

"AH!" She cried. "Cold, cold, cold, cold!"

Neji laughed at her, and next thing he knew he got drenched by a bucket that went unnoticed by the group.

"Karma..." Neji muttered.

The entire group began to laugh.

"Poor Neji-kun." Tenten taunted.

Neji's hand gently thumped her in the back of the head. They continued to float along, and eventually there were several pipes overhead that were dripping water straight onto everyone's head.

"Haven't I been soaked enough?" Neji screamed to the pipes.

The group laughed again.

Next thing they knew, they were approaching the bucket death trap. At least twenty buckets, smaller than the ones that got Neji and Sakura, were overhead, dumping their contents at random intervals.

"Oh hell no..." Shikamaru said.

They went under the buckets, and Tenten instantly got nailed.

"AW!" she cried.

Hinata got it next, followed by Itachi and Sasuke when the water nailed the area right between them. Shikamaru and Temari got nailed simultaneously by two different buckets. By the time they got through the death trap of buckets, not a soul on the raft was dry.

The group of nine got off the ride dripping wet.

"You could have told us about the bucket trap you left waiting for us." Sasuke told the ride operator who burst out laughing.

"Ah, I was wondering what happened to you guys!" The operator said sarcastically.

The group took up their backpacks, and wandered back into the water park to dry themselves off before going to lunch.

Everybody donned their clothes and shoes again, and walked towards the eating area of the park.


Several slices of pizza, and a few minutes of antagonizing the gulls, the group was off again, searching for more rides.

"SCRAMBLER!" Tenten cried and ran for the greatest ride you could ever ride on with your friends.

The group laughed and ran after her.

"I love this ride." Shikamaru laughed as they walked through the gates. "It's so underrated, and nobody ever wants to go on it, but if they did, they would soon realize exactly how much fun it is."

The Scrambler was a ride consisting of a rotating center with poles branching off in three different directions. On the end of those poles, were four more poles that rotated around, and were attached to the seats. The centrifugal force was the greatest part of the ride, but we'll get to that later.

Itachi, Sasuke and Sakura got into one car, Itachi being in exactly the wrong spot on the ride and not knowing it. Sasuke was in the middle, and Sakura was on the outside. Shikamaru and Temari got into another car, Neji and Tenten into another, Hinata and Naruto in the last one. Several others that have nothing to do with the group of nine settled in the other eight chairs.

The ride started up, and a few people whooped. The spin was light at first, nothing much to be said. But when it began to pick up, staying exactly where you sat when you got on the ride was impossible. You would always slide to the side facing away from the ride.

"Oh crap I'm on the wrong side aren't I?" Neji realized, as Tenten slid towards him.

"HELP!" Itachi cried as Sasuke and Sakura squished him straight against the side.

Neji and Tenten laughed, regardless of their predicament. They saw Shikamaru being crushed by Temari who was just slightly bigger than Shikamaru. Temari was laughing at poor Shikamaru, as she tried not to squash him too much.

Naruto and Hinata were just going with it. They had big grins on their faces and they were laughing hard, both of their faces going beet red.

"Neji!" Itachi's voice cried. "HEY NEJI!"

"What?" Neji cried as best as he could as he was being squashed by Tenten.

Itachi suddenly held up his iPod, which actually had a very good speaker on it. A song began to play, and then the words of the song suddenly hit the entire group.

You spin me round, like a record right round,

Neji began to laugh. "How appropriate for a ride like this. Do you have anything on there about being squished?"

Tenten laughed at him. "I'm sorry Neji! I'm trying not to squish you too much!"


Several hours, and an ice cream cone later, the sun was beginning to set over Konoha's Wonderland.

"Aw," Shikamaru sighed. "I had way too much fun today."

The group nodded.

"Shame it has to end." Sakura sighed.

The group nodded again.

"Hey, why don't we have a sleepover or something?" Temari suggested.

The group considered this.

"Why not?" Itachi finally said.

A/N: Neji and Tenten's reaction to Drop Zone perfectly mirrored my own personal experience on Scream in Six Flags: New England. The events that took place were similar too. The ride operator actually did ask us if we wanted to go again, and I was like, No! NONONONONO! Where as everyone else was cheering to go again. I was really scared to have another run at it. I do have a fear of falling, I'll admit that. But unlike Neji, I got on with my own free will. Just like Tenten. But I only went on the ride to try to conquer my fear of falling. It didn't work. I'm just as afraid of falling now as I was then. And you know what's even better? I'll do it all over again if I get the chance. No, I didn't kiss the ground, but I sure wanted to. I did what Neji did. And as for the ride operators little drop song, I didn't make that up. I actually got it from a friend who went on Drop Zone at Canada's Wonderland, and she told me that the ride operator actually sang that.

Holy! That's one long authors note! We should get moving!

And about the tale about the woman getting scalped on a drop ride...I heard that story from a friend.