"Come on guys, pick up the pace!" Shikamaru shouted back to Ino and Chouji. He hated to think that the rigorous pace that him and Temari were used to was too tough for his team mates, but judging by Chouji's deep breaths and Ino swatting at the beads of sweat running down her face, it certainly appeared so.

"Can we please take a break, Shikamaru!" whined Ino, strands of her usually silky blond hair sticking to her face. "We've been traveling since before dawn and it's after noon!"

Chouji remained silent, but Shikamaru could tell that he needed a break as well.

"Isn't there a lake relatively near here?" Temari asked Shikamaru. "It sounds like they really could use a break and it isn't like this is an A-rank mission. It's hardly C-rank."

Shikamaru nodded. "Alright." He landed next to a large tree, the lake in clear view. "We can take an hour for lunch since it seems like half our team really needs it."

Temari stopped next to him, while Ino and Chouji stumbled to the tree, panting.

"Geez, Shikamaru, we're escorting rice wine merchants, not military leaders or politicians," panted Ino as she collapsed onto the grass. Chouji sat down next to her and leaned his back against the tree.

"I have to admit," sighed Chouji. "We are going a little fast. Even though we've been taught to treat every mission with utmost importance, time isn't really of the essence here."

Temari shrugged as Shikamaru remained silent and dug the lunch out of the knapsack he carried on his back.

"Fine, we'll go a little slower," Shikamaru grumbled as he handed Ino and Chouji the now cold barbecue buns that they had bought before leaving. "Here." Shikamaru handed one to Temari.

Temari glared at the bun and sniffed it. Shikamaru stared at her while Ino and Chouji bit into their lunch.

"What?" Temari snapped, nibbling at the bread part of the bun.

"Don't you have buns in Suna?" asked Shikamaru as he took a bite of his.

"Not ones filled with food. Ours are just solid bread, you know, like normal buns."

"Pity," sighed Chouji as he swallowed a mouthful of bread and barbecue pork. "The ones filled with roasted vegetables are really good."

"I thought the pork was your favourite," said Ino, not even half way through her bun.

"It's good, but as far as buns go, I like the vegetables."

Temari shook her head as the two compared the different varieties of buns. Personally, she didn't care. Konoha's food was just weird and she wanted Gaara to hurry up and say that it was okay for her and Kankuro to head back to Suna.

"You miss Suna, don't you?"

Temari looked up and Shikamaru was looking down at her.

"Hardly," she sniffed. "It's so dry and uncomfortable there. The only thing I miss from my home is the food. Everything you eat here is weird."

"And you eat normal food in Suna?" scoffed Shikamaru.

"Hey, flat bread is normal! And so is cactus, especially since it's the only plant that grows everywhere."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "See what I mean?"

Temari shook her head and looked out at the lake. It was very appealing, but she would never go swimming in front of others. Swimming with her own brothers was even a rare occasion, so with Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino, the whole suggestion was out of the question. But it was just so hot outside.

"Hey, Shikamaru, do we have enough time for swimming?" asked Ino hopefully. Ino had already taken off her shoes and was just waiting to splash into the cool water.

Shikamaru leaned back and sighed, looking at the clouds. "Sounds good to me. Actually, I'm feeling rather relaxed and I don't feel like moving."

Ino squealed as she took her hair out of her pony tail and stripped down to her underwear and tank top.

"Come on, Chouji, lets go swim!" Ino grabbed Chouji's wrist energetically and pulled him towards the water, completely oblivious to his blushing cheeks.

Temari looked up at Shikamaru as Ino and Chouji splashed into the lake. Part of her really wanted to go splashing into the lake with Shikamaru, but she was a shinobi, and shinobi didn't develop feelings for people. It added problems.

Hinata lay down under a tall tree in the courtyard of her families main house. Of course there was only one tree in the courtyard, but it was massive and gave a great deal of shade that, in the summer, was more precious that any material item.

It had been two weeks since the night that Neji had kissed her, and although they'd continued training together, there wasn't as much talking between them. Hinata felt slightly guilty over the whole thing. After all, even though her whole family married cousins together to keep the bloodline pure, the whole idea just seemed totally odd to her. Perhaps it was because the older Hyuuga's had been isolated from most of the other clans in the village in the years before?

Hinata sighed and looked at the sunshine through the holes between the leaves. She'd finally reached the level of Chuunin, but it had taken a lot of work, and even so she hadn't been sent on any missions since she'd advanced to the Chuunin level.

"Hinata-sama, shouldn't you be inside?"

Hinata rolled over and saw Neji standing under the shade.

"Why would I want to be inside, Neji?" asked Hinata softly. "It's such a nice day."

Neji sat down next to Hinata. "Well," he leaned against the trunk of the tree. "It's much cooler inside the house."

"Hm." Hinata continued to think about her odd situation. It would be a little too simple to say that she was completely over Naruto, but she had definitely found someone else. "Then why aren't you inside? Or don't you have a mission to be on?"

Neji shook his head. "No. Shikamaru took his team and Temari on a short mission today. When they come back is when I head out with Tenten, Kankuro and Naruto."

Hinata felt a slight pang of jealousy. If she were to chase after Neji, then Tenten would definitely be competition. Everyone knew that she had had a crush on Neji since they'd been assigned to the same team.

"How long will you be gone?" Hinata looked at her cousin, trying not to let her envy show in her eyes. It was surprising how much emotion the Hyuuga eyes could show, even though they were all the same and void of color.

"I don't know. A week or two maybe." Neji felt Hinata grow...irritated. He was caught off guard and felt his cheeks grow pink. Was Hinata jealous that he would be away for so long with Tenten? It had been years since Tenten liked him, but it was still a topic of great discussion. "You need not be jealous of Tenten, Hinata-sama."

Hinata flushed. "N-Neji, what g-gave you the idea that I w-was jealous?"

Neji let his fingers play with some loose strands of Hinata's long, dark hair. "Hinata-sama, I'm not foolish, you know. I'm considered one of the smartest of our age group, along with Shikamaru and Sasuke. I can tell that you're jealous."

Hinata blushed even more and sat up, not sure if she wanted to avoid Neji's glance or lock on to it. "Well, I can't help it. I-I'm horribly confused right now and you're going to be around her for two weeks."

"What has you confused, Hinata-sama?" Neji asked, although he already knew exactly what was on Hinata's mind. He liked her, of course, but kissing Hinata had confused her more than anything, especially since she'd expected to always like Naruto.

"W-well, I-I think I like you, Neji," Hinata said, her face flushing. It had taken her a while to notice that her and Neji had moved closer together. How had that worked out?

"What do you mean 'think'? Please explain, Hinata-sama," Neji whispered in Hinata's ear. Hinata felt warm shivers run up her spine. She could feel the closeness between them close, and she could even smell the scent of what seemed like pine on Neji as the wind blew his hair in the breeze.

"I-I'm not sure. I-I always thought N-Naruto would be the one for me, b-but you're so different, Neji," Hinata stammered. "W-we're cousins, this is s-so strange."

"Cousins being together isn't unusual, Hinata-sama. I know your father would greatly approve."

Hinata thought about it for a moment. True, her father would approve of her and Neji. Hinata's royalty and high status matched with Neji's talent and strength made them a perfect match, especially in the eyes of the Hyuuga Elders.

Hinata tapped her forefingers together nervously. "I-I'm just not sure how to behave, Neji. You were my first kiss the other night. And I've never had a boyfriend."

"It's normal, Hinata-sama. But if it would make you uncomfortable, then I'll forget any of this happened." Neji stood up and started to leave. "Really, it's fine."

Hinata bit her lip nervously and jumped up. "No, Neji, I wouldn't want that!" Hinata wrapped her arms around Neji's solid muscular stomach.

Neji, slightly taken aback, wrapped his arms around Hinata and rest his chin on the top of her head. "Hinata-sama, you have no idea how much I care about you."

Hinata heard Neji, but didn't say anything. She just breathed a sigh of relief as she held him tighter. Why had she never noticed how much she cared about him before? But what did that matter now. Finally, something had been resolved for her, even though it was something as simple as this.

Author's Note: Yes, I know it has been quite a while since I've updated. SORRY! I've actually been running around like a loony. I just got back from Metrocon in Tampa a few days ago, and I also started my new job yesterday. But the good news is that I'm back on my writing streak. :) I Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I really wanted to put in some NejiHina because I kinda feel like they've been a little left out of the story. I think next chapter there will be some LeeSaku, and one other pairing of course. Don't forget to review! Oh, and my Harry Potter fic is up now too, so please check that out and review.

Dang this has been one long AN. Byes!

Aeorith