Survival of the Fittest

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Sasuke felt himself stiffen while his he flexed his fingers before they automatically curled into fists. His eyes narrowed in suspicion before he growled in fury. For some weird reason he felt threatened...although Neji hadn't even moved a muscle. They were so alike...too alike for comfort. His instincts screamed at his to kill...to wash the walls with blood...Neji's blood.

What if he likes Sakura? He ruthlessly pushed the thought away. Sasuke hoped that it wouldn't ever come to those circumstances. There was no way that unfeeling bastard would ever open up to anyone...much less Sakura.

A little nagging voice of doubt taunted him, whispering secrets in his head. "You were like that once...cold and indifferent to everyone...but she," he turned towards Sakura. "She changed you...she gave you a soul...melted the ice around your heart. What makes you so sure she wouldn't do the same with him?"

Sasuke sighed in defeat. He had no choice but to wish for the best...and hopefully someday she'd understand and love him.

Neji calmly held his ground as he turned slightly to study them each in turn. A taunting smirk played on his lips while he openly ignored Uchilha. That was the point...wasn't it? To piss Uchilha off as much as possible...hopefully enough to provoke him into another fight.

One might see them as rivals...or as reflections of each other...yet not a perfect reflection. They had both endured a painful childhood...both strived to hone their skills as much as possible. To become the best of the best.

Neji's eyes widened in surprise when a gorgeous pink haired girl walked cautiously up to him. He let out a cold chuckle. She definitely had guts to want to talk to him...even more to stand a foot or so away from him. Within striking distance.

"Hey Neji," she greeted studying him carefully. "What are you doing here?" she asked brightly trying to start a conversation. After all...they were practically going to live on the same boat for a few months. It would be wise to become friends...instead of enemies. Sakura shot Sasuke a nervous glance. She knew that he wasn't found of Neji...no...he hated him. She hoped he wouldn't do anything rash. They need to ENJOY this vacation...and nothing...and no one was going to prevent that...

He decided to remained silent studying her with his cool stormy eyes. She was probably just another spoiled brat...another one of those "fake" ninjas. Yet...if she wasn't....why was she hanging out with Uchilha? What was she to him?

"Maybe going on the cruise," he said shooting her a derisive glance while he made a sweeping gesture towards the ship. "Why else would I be here?" he muttered rolling his eyes dismissively.

Sakura sighed reluctantly before trying to prod Neji into another conversation. "Damn this guy's sure mysterious," she growled to herself. "I swear...he should seriously try to lighten up. She smirked playfully...she was going to change that. He'd be more then happy to chat by the time she's finished with him.

"So where's the rest of your team?" she pondered not knowing that she was speaking aloud. "I haven't seen Rock Lee or Ten-ten for quite awhile!" she said slowly. Sakura ran her hand through the full length of her silky hair. "I missed them..." she trailed off in surprise when she noticed that Neji's lips were curled in disgust.

"Well apparently they decided to stop by at the beach," he muttered not bothering to hide the revulsion in his voice. "They were a bit too..."involved" with each other to notice I was gone."

Sakura's jaw dropped in surprise. "YOU MEAN LEE AND TEN-TEN ARE AN ITEM!" she shrieked in excitement, ignoring Neji who winced in pain. "They'd look so..." she caught herself and tried to find the right words. "so...perfect."

"Wow...that's descriptive," he grumbled through clenched teeth. He should have scared her off by now. What in the world was she? He had treated her like shit...pushed her away...but she'd just ignored it and kept on persisting. He could even scare his own teammates...and yet he couldn't scare this young girl standing in front of him.

"Well what do you think about them," she said haughtily, placing her hands on her hips. "And it doesn't include the words "I don't care."

"Do you always talk so much?" inquired Neji after listening to another few minutes of chattering. "I swear, my ears are going to start bleeding if you don't shut your trap up."

Sakura shot him a annoyed glance, before pretending not to hear a word he'd just said. "Are you going to back away from a challenge?" she taunted matching his stance. "Since you're obviously avoiding the question," she stated calmly.

Neji growled in frustration...how he longed to wrap his fingers around her slim neck...and twist it...so she would shut the hell up! No...in reality he couldn't hurt her...for some weird reason. When her emerald eyes were fixed upon him...he felt as if she could see through his shields...straight into his soul.

He sent her her a disconcerting smile which didn't have the effect he wished it did. Since all Sakura did was raised her eyebrows in amusement. "If you really want to know what I think..." he hissed through clenched teeth me motions for her to lean closer.

Sakura shot him a bewildered look before she reluctantly walked closer...after all...what could he do to her?

Neji sucked in a deep breath before hollering loudly in her ear, "I DON'T CARE!"

She jumped a foot in the air before she whirled around to glare at Neji, who lay sprawled on the ground laughing his head off. "It's not funny!" she snapped trying to regain her composure. However much to her displeasure she found a small smile tugging at the edges of her lips. Sakura grumbled a few "colorful" curses softly under her breath while she waited impatiently for Neji to get a grip on himself.

"Feeling better?" she growled in sweet malevolence when he finally recovered. Neji was actually a pretty sweet guy once he warmed up a bit...okay actually a lot.

"Naturally," he answered giving her his best boyish grin which caused her to stare at him as if he'd just grown another head. Neji felt his eyes widen when he realized what he'd just did. It was foolish to open up to anyone...much less a likely opponent.

Neji schooled his expression as it returned to it's usual impenetrable mask. He avoided eye contact with Sakura and walked towards the front desk. "You should sign in," he advised without turning around. "The ship will be leaving soon."

Sakura stared at him looking shocked at her sudden dismissal. She turned towards her friends who were watching her with open curiosity. "Come on...let's sign in..." she suggested calmly, while her head was still trying to digest mercurial attitude.

After they collected their tickets, they all took one last look at the beautiful ocean...and boat that would be their home for the next few months. Sakura tossed her hair in anticipation, her eyes snapping with excitement. She walked slowly up the red carpet...towards the opening of the ship...with the rest of them following in suit.

She gasped once again in delight when she saw...

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