How could she possibly have the nerve to top his fighting skills with her courage and determination? She must have known she would not be able to win, and slyly inserted moral and values crap into it so she could once again be declared better. There was no way even he could sufficiently kick someone's face in after they had done that. Not, that he hadn't tried but he couldn't just be entirely vicious. He wasn't totally cold hearted. He did have empathetic feelings towards others. He wasn't totally sadistic. In fact, Neji considered, he wasn't sadistic at all.
Kicking a squirrel out off his way and laugh/coughing slightly to make himself feel better, he tried to decide his next move. He could challenge her to a glaring contest (Did she even know how to glare? She was always smiling that...smile.) Or a game of Shogi (He didn't even have the game.). No, this wouldn't do. He needed to use less direct attacks. He needed the element of surprise.
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Sakura woke early. She felt exhausted. She had been too busy worrying about how strange Neji was. How was she supposed to handle it when one moment he was being seemingly nice and the next he was beating her into a pulp? What was she supposed to do when she walked out hating him and then she would speak to him, or at least fight with him, and feel perfectly at ease? Still she was able to haul herself out of bed. She had to prepare breakfast for the under-cover team before they left. Stepping out of the tent she had been sharing with Tenten, and walking around it to reach the middle of the campsite, she rammed right into Neji's chest.
"EEEE!" He stopped her screams with his hand, then slowly incase she was planning to start up again removed it. "Neji? What are you doing sneaking around?"
"Sneaking? I have been cooking breakfast."
"What? It was my turn."
"Yes well, I was behind one as you had to cook the first meal twice."
"Huh?" He nodded his head at her and began to walk away.
"I shall see you in awhile." He entered the forest behind her. Then he turned his head slightly. "Oh. You must try to be more careful when you are walking. You may fall." He turned fully and scarred her permanently for life. Sakura had never been more frightened. There she was thinking the Chuuin Exam's forest could never be removed from its throne, and Neji had trotted along, pried it off and trampled it into the dirt. She stood staring at where she had first lost sight of him.
The other three found their breakfast half an hour later. They found Sakura still standing, twitching slightly, half an hour after that. While Kiba and Konohamaru panicked in the background, Tenten waved chocolate underneath Sakura's nose to revive her. She mumbled something.
"Sakura! What is it?" Sakura coughed, bit into the chocolate and spoke.
"He...he smiled at me."
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He had not thought it could work so well. The poor girl had gone into shock. Well, not too poor seeing as she had the gall to challenge him. Still, petrifying her for a while wasn't going to force her to relinquish the high throne she was currently perching upon. His throne. He massaged the corners of his mouth gently. He was pretty sure grinning like that had pulled a muscle. He noticed movement to his left, crouched deeper into the bushes and concealed his chakra to a state of invisibility. It was Sakura, ambling slowly up the path in zigzags. Perfect. That meant the others had left and the camp was empty. He frowned slightly at her back. She was barley looking where she was going. Not that he cared of course, he reassured himself, but an untimely death now would destroy his plan, that's all. Yes, the remainder of his plan. He hurried, in a still very dignified manner, back the way Sakura had come.
He cleaned, he cooked and he decided he had most certainly conquered. He sat back in his usual meditation position by the fire, allowing him to watch over the meal he was preparing. It was almost nightfall and Sakura had not yet returned. When he had risen to stir the pot, his team member finally burst through the trees, looking more than a little frazzled. Upon seeing him she jump backwards, spun around, adjusted her clothes and hair and wiped her face with her sleeve before approaching.
"Oh, Neji. Um, hello."
"Sakura, you look like you have fallen down a cliff." He told her, charming as ever. He looked her up and down properly noting the cuts and bruises.
"Oh! I...I did. But it was a very small cliff." It didn't matter to him how big the cliff was as long as she was here to stand in awe of him. That's all she was good for as far as he was presently concerned. "So...Um you're cooking our dinner as well. I might go and...Um...clean up the supplies."
"I have already completed that task."
"Firewood then!"
"No need. I have already gathered plenty and the fire is fuelled sufficiently." She thought she was smart but adding the 'Birds of Fire Country' encyclopedia to help with that task had been purely the genius he was.
"So. Do you need any help at all?"
"You could...No. It would be best if I did that." She glared at him.
"What?"
"Never mind."
"Why can't I do it?"
"No reason."
"Then tell me what it is and I will!"
"I told you not to worry about it."
"WHY?" He looked at her, then raised one eyebrow and shook his head slightly. It was the kind of look he gave a small child who had just fallen over.
"Oh, It is just it would be wise if I was trusted with the transportation of the scrolls box." He motioned with his hand towards the chest near his tent.
"Why would that be?" Sakura retaliated with one of the looks that she usually gave Naruto before she thumped him over head. That was exactly what he had wanted to see.
"Well it is quite heavy and there is a lot of important equipment inside of it."
"So I cannot be trusted with the task? That's why you won't trust me with any task! YOU THINK I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH! DON'T LET SAKURA COOK THE FOOD, SHE MIGHT BURN IT!" she took this as an opportunity to kick the pot Neji was standing beside into the fire. "DON'T LET HER SET UP A TENT, SHE WILL MESS IT UP!" She hacked at Neji's tent ropes with her kunai and let it crumple satisfactorily. "SHE CAN'T GO INTO THE SCROLL BOX! IT'S TOO GOOD FOR HER!" She threw some of the scrolls from the box into the air around her. "DON'T EVEN TRY TO HOLD A CONVERSATION WITH HER; SHE IS TOO STUPID TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!" She strode up to Neji and slapped him across his bruised cheek. That had worked well he decided, surveying the furious woman leering at him. The element of surprise had been utilized well in his plan, and she had walked right into his word trap. She took another step up to him and poked his chest with one finger, obviously waiting for his reaction. She got it. It was certainly doused in the element of surprise. Who for more, however Neji had no idea.
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Kiba strode quickly towards the campsite. He had been traveling back to fetch Akamaru's favorite dinner collar as the team was planning on visiting a popular restaurant that night to investigate a lead (A/N: Eh hem, pardon the pun.). Half way back however, his sensitive nose had picked up on the scent of angry chakra, blown from the camps direction. Actually he had never smelled anything quite like it. It was very strong and a little unnatural. It worried him. As he dashed over the crest of the hill he became more and more panicked. Unwound scrolls were blowing in the breeze and scattered through the dirt. An odd charred smell was reaching his nose and a tent had been demolished. He could only sense and smell Neji and Sakura, so whatever attackers there had been, they had gone now. Fearing the worst, he ran at full speed the rest of the way.
He soon discovered that both Neji and Sakura were very safe indeed. At first he had thought Sakura was performing some sort of emergency upright C.P.R on an injured Neji. How wrong first impressions can be. After that he didn't know whether to scream or laugh. He decided he should at least alert them to his presence now. He coughed loudly and they both sprang apart, Sakura looking like she had been force fed 'Curry of Life' and Neji looking like he had just witnessed Naruto kissing his cousin. Sakura stood and muttered something about firewood before running into the conveniently placed woods behind them. Neji tried to remain serene like nothing had happened.
"Did you require assistance Kiba?"
Nut2: Another chapter finished. Yip. Well thank you to any readers and mostly my reviewers. Oh and Nut1 if you have taken the time to read my authors note even without reading the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Kishimoto-someone (I have no idea. Sorry hardcore Naruto fans) does. That is not my name and I do not claim it to be.