She was strong. She new that much for sure. Nothing would make her cry now, especially not some stupid man who couldn't understand the honor it was to be present in her company. No, crying was not on her to do list at the moment, tying up the back of Tenten's dress was.
"Is that tight enough?" By keeping her mind on the job and treating everything with the air of professionalism she new she had, she would prove to bloody Neji that arrogant little boys comments didn't concern her. Ignoring the ever present fact that he was older than her of course. Holding up her mask of calmness Neji, Kiba, Tenten and Konohamaru would never see through her clever façade.
"Sakura, is something wrong?" Damn.
"What? Oh no everything is just...just! This is my first mission for a while, I mean, isn't this fun! I think this is a great mission! At least you get to wear nice clothes and oh! You will be able to go shopping!" Thank goodness she had a Ninja's skill in lying. She heard Tenten sigh.
"Did Neji do something?"
"Huh? No! We are getting along really well!"
"Okay now I know you are lying. Don't worry about him though. He wouldn't be happy with this sort of mission and he's always...well Neji."
"Worry? Lying? Why would I...I'm sorry but how did you ever survive with such a pompous idiot in your sights every day? I just cannot believe anyone could possibly be so judgmental! Who does he think he is anyway? The bloody Hokage? Tenten stop laughing I'm being serious!"
"Sorry! It's just well; you must have broken some sort of record to get Neji pissed at you that quickly."
"I was just trying to hold friendly conversation!"
"Hm, well there is your problem. It would probably be better to leave him alone."
"But we are supposed to work together!"
"He knows some conversation will be necessary and will comply, but don't push it."
"Right then, from now on I will treasure every word he forces at me knowing what an honor it is to have even a small portion of his attention." Tenten laughed again making it harder to adjust her skirt's hem.
"Well that's about true. You will get used to him though. That's enough now, I'm ready."
They both exited the tent to where Kiba, Neji and Konohamaru were waiting. Sakura averted her gaze to a fascinating tree somewhere to her left. Kiba however dashed forward and embraced Tenten, Akamaru jumping against her legs.
"Tenten my darling wife! How I have pined for your warmth! You look ravishing!" Tenten grimaced and shoved him off. "Oh honey! Why must you reject me with such precise aim? Now my liver aches as much as my heart!"
"Save it Dog Boy. Konohamaru, as Kiba has clearly understood his part in this, do you know what you have to do?"
"Of course! I am a young bachelor trying my luck in a popular holiday town. Later, by chance I meet up with my old family friends and their faithful pet, while shopping." He gestured towards Kiba, Tenten and Akamaru. "I resume my holiday as normal visiting general tourist attractions malls and occasionally meeting at the third Noodle Bar on the main street with said friends." Tenten nodded her approval.
"Right, we should head off then. Are you two going to be fine here?" Tenten looked at Sakura who was focusing on a beetle's journey through the grass. Neji answered instead.
"There is no reason why we should not be. You may leave."
Sakura tried to prevent the angry vibes from escaping knowing that right now, any student at the Ninja Academy would be able to correctly identify them. Everyone remained staring at her, except she noted Konohamaru was moving backwards slightly, knowing what those feelings usually ended with. Except Naruto wasn't here and he was standing closest to her. Thinking about rabbits and chocolate she nodded.
"I will be okay." She smiled the biggest smile she could in Tenten's direction. There was no way in the world she would let Neji get in the way of her first official Medic Nin job. She didn't always have to be sweet, stupid Sakura. She smiled again as she returned to the setting up of camp, for real this time.
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He was thinking. His meditation had successfully brought him in the depths of his mind allowing him to ponder what mattered. Naruto had told him that destiny wasn't predetermined, that everyone chose and forged their own paths. If this was true then he was presently doing just that. He was taking the path of ignoring Sakura forging his future to one that involved a peaceful mind and complete meditation session. So his purposeful ignorance towards her very presence wasn't really rude, just another road he was walking and journey he had chosen to accept. Yes that made perfect sense. He still wished she would leave though. With his Byakugan activated he could see her hand waving methodically in front of his face as well as hearing her screech his name. He new however years of training meant that his patience would long outlast hers. He was a Hyuuga-
"What do you want? Cant you see I'm busy?" He had snapped without realizing and cursed mentally. One point Sakura.
"Why yes I can! But can't you see you're sitting on the guide rope for my tent?" Okay. Two points Sakura.
"Hn. This wouldn't be a problem if you had finished setting it up earlier." One to Neji.
"Sorry, I was helping Kiba with his microphone seeing as someone else hadn't." Sakura: 4, Neji: 1
"No. Someone else was helping Konohamaru with his." Neji remained two points behind but hadn't given up yet. "Also is that pan supposed to be on fire?" As Sakura dashed around the tent to the charred dinner Neji had seen with his Byakugan, he let the smallest of victory smirks creep onto his face. Like anyone could beat him in a debate. He closed his eyes and began to relax back into his surroundings. He kept his face passive as Sakura walked towards him holding the remains of the dinner, the smoking pan, most likely heading towards the river situated behind him. Calm as he was in his alert but relaxed state, it still came as a shock when Sakura stooped down and muttered something when she passed him.
"It wouldn't have burnt if you had answered me straight away."
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Sakura was panicking. She may have been happy from her earlier victory but now she had to find something else for dinner. Not wanting to delve into the rest of the supplies, the most obvious option would be to go fishing in the nearby river. However Neji was the current holder of the fishing gear. This meant several problems would arise. Firstly her earlier success would be damaged by speaking to him and secondly such an act could be classified as asking for assistance. Not good. She searched desperately through her bag. Suddenly she spotted something and almost laughed out loud.
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The question had arisen in Neji's mind. Would he ever be able to complete at least half an hours worth of undisturbed meditation again? His most recent disruption had been caused by his Byakugan catching on some sort of strange behavior at the riverside. Knowing he would have to investigate before he could achieve any sort of mental peace he rose.
A few minutes later he was standing behind Sakura who lay on her stomach with her arms dangling in the water.
"What are you doing?"
"Fishing." He was now sure that she had let her earlier win go to head driving her completely insane.
"By hand?"
"No."
"What then? Are you planning to inhale them as they swim past?" Slowly, so to not startle any fish nearby, she raised her arms out of the water. She was holding a sieve. He almost passed out.
Nut 2: I seem to be making it a habit to get one review per chapter (except for my faithful nut buddy, nut 1's helpful advice). Oh well. It has only been up for long enough for aprox 321 people to look at it. So thanks to 'naash' and also 'IluvJesus123'
'CloeyMarie' and 'babylicious' for the alerts. Please review if you liked this even a tiny bit! It's my first solo fic so I would really appreciate it! Thank you for reading.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything naruto related.