OMG I'm BEHIND! NO! Well, since life isn't a luxury anymore, it's gonna be harder to update. Of course, I won't forget about updating, I'll just remember it and update in like, three weeks or something. I'll try to update sooner!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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"Ooooooh…we're on the road agaaaaaiin!" Gai sang more or less on key.

"You sure you're okay?" Nori asked Hinata.

"Mm-hm…" Hinata whispered, muffling her mouth.

"How long now?" Gaara asked anxiously.

"It'll take days, no…weeks to get there!" Naruto exclaimed dramatically. "I bet we're lost! We haven't seen any of the other teachers for miles! WE'RE DOOOOOOOMED!"

"We're here," Neji observed.

"Oh."

"Yes!" everyone cheered inwardly and outwardly.

"FREEDOM!" Naruto screamed, flinging the door open and jumping out. Of course, it was a pretty big car, so he fell flat on his face. "Ow…"

"Is he claustrophobic or something?" Neji said.

"I don't know, but I think I may be after that car ride…" Gaara said.

"Nori! Hinata!"

"Gaara! Neji!"

At that moment, Sasuke and Tenten came running over to them.

"Lee!" Gai shouted randomly.

"Gai!" Lee exclaimed.

"Take this backpack!" Gai yelled.

"Okay!" Lee cried.

"Naruto!" Naruto shouted. "Oh wait…"

"Uh…okay…" Sasuke and Tenten said, standing there confused for a second. Then they snapped their attention back to the four people they had just called.

"Hey, Tenten," Nori said.

"Hello…" Hinata said.

"What do you want?" Neji and Gaara said in unison, not in the tone that they were suggesting a greeting.

"Come with me," Tenten and Sasuke said, grabbing the two males and females.

"Okay, so I kind of made this bet with Sasuke…" Tenten said quickly.

"You what?" Nori said, shocked.

"Look, it was the spur of the moment," Sasuke explained to the guys. "I didn't know what I was thinking, and besides, there's no way the girls will ever be able to beat us."

The guys shrugged and nodded in agreement.

"So how about it?" Tenten asked the girls.

"Oh…" Sakura said. "I don't want to try and compete against Sasuke…"

"I, on the other hand, think he'll be impressed!" Ino declared.

"What? Well, then I'm going!" Sakura said.

"Did I say that out loud?" Ino wondered. "Fine, I'm going too!"

Hinata didn't want to let the other girls down. "It…might be fun…"

"Well if everyone else is going to do it, then I will too," Nori said.

And of course, all the boys didn't want to be beaten by a bunch of girls, so they all agreed too.

"But don't let Naruto, Kiba, or Lee in on this," Sasuke warned. "We don't want them to screw up the competition."

"Yeah," Neji agreed. "They would definitely want—"

"Definitely want what?" Naruto asked as he, Kiba, Chouji, and Lee suddenly appeared from behind the other guys.

"Did you notice the girls are huddled up like you guys?" Lee asked obliviously. "Isn't that something?"

"Uh…" the more stoic guys said blankly.

"Never mind!" Kiba shouted, obviously getting bored. "Man, you guys are so slow. But you know what would be fun?"

The guys waited.

"Well?"

"Oh," Shino said. "We thought it was a rhetorical question."

"Haha, no!" Kiba laughed as if it were the funniest thing in the world. "Well, we thought it would be fun if all of us walk together in a group!"

"It works for the girls," Chouji shrugged.

"I think that's because there are only five of them," Gaara said, gesturing towards the five girls that they actually knew the names of. The other girls from the classes were scattered EVERYWHERE. Like things that were…scattered…everywhere.

"Yeah…but the more the merrier! Except for you, Sasuke," Naruto said. "You can just run off alone!"

"Yeah right, Naruto," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes.

"We kind of wanted to go as this former group," Neji said. "Meaning…not you guys."

"NO! We must all go TOGETHER!" Lee declared. Then, he magically grabbed everyone in his arms and raced up the snowy trail.

"Hey! They started already!" Sakura shouted, pointing at the crowd of boys.

"How can he do that?" Ino said in disbelief.

"He uh…can't," Tenten said. "Sometimes Lee gets high and starts doing crazy stuff for about two seconds. Then he falls flat on his face."

"Okay…" the other girls said.

"Sh-Shouldn't we get started too?" Hinata said.

"Right!"

THUNK.

"OW!" Lee shouted, falling on his face. Except the snow muffled his voice.

"I told you to never do that again!" Neji shouted angrily. The boys were slightly dispersed around the area two feet from the beginning of the trail.

"Don't start out too quickly or else you'll get too tired," Kakashi said, walking idly by. "Oh, and put on your snowshoes." He dropped a pile of the right-sized snowshoes in front of the boys.

"Right!" Lee exclaimed, pointing a finger in the air. He popped out of the snow and brushed himself off. His face was red so now he looked even more ridiculous. Since he was wearing green clothes, he looked exactly like Christmas. With eyebrows.

"Okay…that was pretty rough," Sasuke said, brushing himself off.

"You'd better get your head in the game, Sasuke," Tenten said as she and the other girls walked by.

"Are you okay?" Sakura said, cupping her hands in a worried fashion.

"I'm FINE," Sasuke said, annoyed. He turned to the other guys who were brushing themselves off. Shikamaru was just lying there…staring at the sky with a troubled look on his face.

"Hey! Hurry up!" Sasuke shouted.

The guys stared at him.

"YES! We must get to the top!" Lee shouted.

"You won't beat me Sasuke!" Naruto declared as he started racing up the trail then sliding down on the snow. "Okay, do-over!"

"Haha!" Kiba laughed while pointing at Naruto. "I doubt you'll even get halfway there!"

"You wanna bet?" Naruto shouted, jumping up then tripping backwards again.

"C'mon," Neji whispered to Sasuke, walking over. "Maybe we can lose the losers."

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded. Then he looked at Shino who looked SO offended that Lee got him all wet and cold, Shikamaru who was ever so slowly getting up off the ground, and Gaara who was just glaring at them all and looking up towards the girls now and again.

"No dice," Sasuke whispered. "We have to get them to come too."

"Oh…right…" Neji had a pained look on his face.

In a few minutes, the stoic ones got their snowshoes on. Of course, they had to put Shikamaru's on his feet because if they had let him on his way, they wouldn't get started till next year.

"Okay, let's go," Sasuke said.

"WAIT!" Naruto hollered. "I need help!" He seemed to have the left snowshoe on his right and visa versa.

"Too bad, Naruto," Sasuke said as the others started trekking up the mountain, leaving Naruto in the dust. The snowy dust.

Naruto shook his fist at Sasuke. "This isn't over!"

"It was over before it began," Sasuke muttered.

GIRLS

"D-Do you think i-it was a l-little m-mean to l-leave th-the boys there?" Hinata stuttered.

"No way, they totally deserve it," Nori said.

"Do you think we'll win?" Ino asked. "I mean…they have Neji…and Sasuke."

"Of course we'll win!" Tenten said ambitiously. "I mean, I've hiked up this mountain before when I was a bit younger! This'll be a cinch!"

"B-But Neji has too…" Hinata whispered.

"That's right…" Tenten said, looking a little crestfallen. "Well, whatever! We'll still win because we're smarter."

"She doesn't quit, does she?" Sakura whispered to Ino.

"Does that count as a good thing?" Ino answered.

BOYS

"This is so…beyond troublesome," Shikamaru said. "Who knew Uchiha would be the one causing all this."

"I could just drop you right here, you know," Sasuke said, jumping a little to adjust his hold on Shikamaru. "You know how stupid this looks?"

"I do," Shikamaru said.'

"Then why am I the one carrying you?" Sasuke said.

Before Shikamaru could reply with a totally logically explanation, Neji, who was leading stopped.

"What is it?" Shino said.

"Well…" Neji said, shaking his head. "There are two ways to go from here. One is up the trail and according to the small-sized footsteps…they went that way. And I'm sure everyone else will go that way too. But…on my trip here, I took a shortcut, through these bushes. I got there before the whole family. It's definitely faster."

"Don't shortcuts usually spell out 'trouble'?" Lee asked.

"I know the way," Neji said, looking offended that Lee would even think of Hyuuga Neji being lost. IMPOSSIBLE! "You sound like Hinata."

"Well, we're already behind, so there's no use in going the regular way at the speed we're going," Sasuke said. "Lead the way, Neji." Actually, if the boys had bothered to turn a corner then they would've seen the girls going at a fair pace. But they didn't.

"This isn't a contest!" Lee exclaimed as if he knew.

"Then you and Kiba can go up the trail," Sasuke said simply.

"No," the mentioned two said.

Sasuke groaned. "Then be useful and carry this deadweight."

"I'm right here, you know," Shikamaru said. How did I ever get myself into this? Oh yeah. Uchiha.

GIRLS

Half an hour had past and the girls were extremely tired.

"Let's…stop…" Ino said, collapsing.

"Again?" Tenten said. "The boys will catch up soon if we keep stopping!"

"Actually, we've stopped three times now and I haven't seen the boys anywhere…" Nori said. "Do you think they're all right?"

"Well…" Tenten said thoughtfully. Then she shook her head vigorously. "No way! There's a clearly marked trail and I doubt any one of them would be stupid enough to fall off the edge."

Hinata coughed.

"What?" the girls turned their attention to Hinata.

"W-Well…I…well…"

"Spit it out, Hinata!" Nori urged.

Hinata gulped. "…L-Last year…the f-family w-went on a h-hike u-up this m-mountain…t-together. Th-Then m-my f-father s-said s-something that a-angered N-Neji…a-and he went a d-different w-way. W-When everyone g-got t-to the t-top…N-Neji was w-waiting."

"A shortcut?" Tenten said, gaping. "Where?"

"W-We…p-past it…a m-moment ago…"

"You have to show it to us, Hinata!" Tenten exclaimed. "We can't let those guys cheat!"

"Tenten…I think you're taking this a tad bit too seriously…" Sakura said slowly.

"I can't tolerate cheating!" Tenten declared. She turned to Hinata quickly, making her squeak. "Hinata! Show us the shortcut!"

"Yeah," Nori nodded. "Do it, Hinata. If those guys think they can get away with cheating, I say they've got another thing coming."

"…All right…"

The girls followed Hinata back down the trail and found Naruto resting there. Well…he was lying flat on his back while his chest moved up and down.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata squeaked, turning red from the cold and redder from Naruto's presence.

"Oh…hey…" Naruto said, saluting the girls a little. "Do…you know…where…Sasuke…and the other…guys…went?"

"They went through a shortcut, that's where they went!" Tenten said.

"We're going to put them in their place," Nori said, crossing her arms.

"SHORTCUT?" Naruto exclaimed, suddenly having an extreme burst of energy. "I'm going too!"

"Fine…" the girls sighed. Not everyone wanted to deal with Naruto at the moment, but none of them wanted to deal with Naruto's arguing.

Hinata was followed through the bushes and they were hot on the trail of the boys in no time.

BOYS

"We're lost."

"No we aren't!" Neji insisted.

"Shikamaru's always right, you know," Kiba said.

"Shut up."

"I'm just saying."

"I said shut up. And watch your step; the snow is kind of deeper here."

"Neji, don't tell me you got us into a mess," Sasuke said.

"I'm not the one who challenged Tenten to this stupid competition!" Neji said, whirling around and glaring at Sasuke. Sasuke knew he wouldn't be able to win a staring contest with Neji, so he looked away.

"At least I can remember directions," Sasuke said.

"Yeah right," Neji said, crossing his arms defiantly. "You're just a seventh grader, what do you know?" He looked around. "It was…this way."

"That's the way we came," Lee said.

Then Neji turned around and glared at Lee. Lee definitely couldn't win against Neji.

"Why don't we just go back?" Gaara said. "With the girls' stamina, I bet they stopped a lot."

"No, we're already too far," Sasuke said. "We'll just have to trust Neji to pull as through this."

Everyone coughed.

Neji looked offended. He was being dissed by a bunch of lowly seventh graders. And Lee.

"I'm not going to make a mistake," Neji said. Hyuuga Neji did not make mistakes.

"Too late," Kiba said, under his breath. And Neji had to muster up all his willpower not to send Kiba flying off the mountain.

GIRLS

"Whoa!"

"…D-Did I…forget t-to mention th-the snow is d-deeper?" Hinata said, turning red.

"That's a useful bit of information you left out," Nori said. She had fallen straight through the snow that was about three feet deep. "Great…stupid snowshoes…"

She clambered out of the snow, snow-shoeless. Her sneakers were covered in white wintry wonder.

"M-Maybe y-you should g-go back…" Hinata said. "I-It may be a l-little d-dangerous w-without the snowshoes…"

"Don't worry, Hinata," Nori said. "I'll be fine. Besides, I don't want to lose to the boys. I've walked on snow tons of times."

"Well…okay…but…"

"She said she's fine," Tenten said. "Let's go!"

Nori nodded. "Right."

Suddenly, they heard a shout.

"Sasuke-kun?" Ino and Sakura said worriedly.

BOYS

"I'm gonna go crazy if I don't get off this mountain!" Sasuke shouted angrily. He tossed Shikamaru to the ground.

Shikamaru looked a little bewildered. "Ow."

"Great…he's lost it…" Kiba said.

"Maybe if we went the right way…!" Sasuke pouted appallingly.

"Stop trying to use that as an excuse," Neji said serenely. "We all know that everything that went wrong traces back to you."

The two boys' eyes simultaneously darted towards the other boys standing off to the side. "Well?" they said.

The boys exchanged uneasy glances. Sasuke was scary crazy sometimes, but Neji…was scary and an eighth grader. They were completely TORN. Or they didn't care.

"Hey guys! What happ—argh!"

Suddenly, Nori came skidding into view without her snowshoes. That, of course, was dangerous. She slid past them and towards the edge.

"What?" Sasuke and Neji said, dazed.

"Nori!" Tenten shouted.

Gaara, who was the nearest grabbed her arm. However, Nori was heavier than she looked. "Crap!"

Lee grabbed Gaara so they formed a three-person chain. Lee couldn't hold onto two people, no matter how strong he was. He clutched the arm of the next nearest person.

"Aw man…" Shikamaru said as he went along with the trio.

The four of them tumbled down, hands linked, down the mountain.

"Ah! What the heck happened?" Naruto exclaimed, clinging to his head.

"Ah! Lee!" Tenten exclaimed, making her way towards the edge. The snowshoes really slow people down… "Nori! Oh man…"

"This isn't good…" Kiba said.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Ino said.

"Oh! We're going to be in big trouble!" Sakura wailed. "I've never been in detention!"

"Shut up already," Sasuke said. "We just need to calmly find a way down to help them…"

"You're not exactly the calmest person here," Neji said.

"You…" Sasuke growled.

"Don't start this bothersome fight again…" Shino said, taking the liberty of being a Shikamaru.

"W-What…what will happen to them?" Hinata said quietly. But no one could hear her.

DOWN THE MOUNTAIN…

The four had managed to land safely but not completely unharmed. The snow was very deep and cushioned their landing.

"Let go," Shikamaru and Gaara said, jerking their arms away from Lee.

"Yes!" Lee exclaimed, jumping up. "We are unharmed!" He looked down at his torn jacket and cut arms. "For the most part anyway…"

"Lee, are you okay?" Nori said, getting herself out of the snow for the second time. Then she stopped. "Er…Gaara?"

"Oh…sorry. I was uh…that is…my hand was frozen…" Gaara said, retracting his hand hesitantly. His cheeks were red. But from the cold. Yeah. From the cold.

She smiled. "That's okay." She turned back to Lee. "Your arms are bleeding…"

Lee just shrugged. "It happens I suppose…"

"You should worry about yourself," Gaara said suddenly.

"What?"

He pointed towards her leg. Just above her ankle was a cut that was bleeding slightly as well.

"Ouch…" Nori said as if she had just noticed it. "…It must've been…when I fell…"

"Well this sucks," Shikamaru said, getting up and inspecting his few wounds on his body. He wasn't exactly bleeding to death, but it was troublesome. "What a mess…"

"What are we going to do?" Nori said anxiously.

"First we should find a spot where we can rest a bit," Shikamaru said. "And we need to call the teachers. Does anyone have a cell phone on them?"

The boys looked at Nori.

"What?"

"Well…you are a girl…" Lee said.

"That doesn't mean I have a cell phone!"

"Do you?"

"Yeah…" Nori said, taking her green cell out of her pocket. She flipped it open and held it up. "No reception."

"Okay…" Shikamaru said, going into thinking mode. "Well…let's just go with the first plan. Then we can find a way back up. Or at least…a way back to the parking lot."

"Okay," said everyone.

Some time later, they found a nice little cave where they could stay and rest. Lee had apologized to a tree as he tore off its bark and handed it to Shikamaru who had produced a fire. Everyone huddled up as close as they could get without getting burned.

They had searched through the backpack Lee had been given and found a First-Aid kit. It didn't take a Shikamaru to know how to wrap bandages around an arm or leg or rub on some medicine.

"Guys…" Nori said quietly.

The guys looked at her questioningly.

"I'm…sorry…for causing this…" Nori said.

"What? You didn't cause this," Gaara said.

"Yeah…if Sasuke and Tenten didn't start this pointless competition, Sasuke would be less fanatical and he wouldn't have shouted. Neji was right…" Shikamaru said. "Everything that went wrong today…was because of Sasuke."

Nori had a lopsided smile and shook her head. "I guess, but…still…"

"There's no need to be sorry," Lee said. "Because we each forgave you telepathically!"

Nori laughed. "I see."

"Hm…" Shikamaru said, observing the fire. "Needs more wood…"

"I shall get it!" Lee declared.

"While you're doing that, I think I'll take a nap," Shikamaru said, yawning. He fell asleep in two seconds.

Nori smiled. "You know…Shikamaru's such a bum, but he's a good guy…"

Gaara shrugged.

"Hey Gaara," Nori said.

"Hm?"

"What you did…when I fell...thanks," Nori said, smiling a bit.

"You didn't expect me to stand there in shock, did you?"

"Actually…"

"Never mind."

"Gaara?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you hiding?"

"Hiding?"

"Yeah. I mean…well…some months ago when Tenten and I were walking home…we saw you help a kid. Everyone at school says that you're some dark emo-boy that only cares for himself. I didn't think it was true…and I still don't. But you're awfully good at keeping that reputation."

Gaara thought for a moment before he answered. "…When I was little, I was a real pushover. People bullied me…and I hated it. Whenever I tried to be nice, I never got any acknowledgment. I felt angry. And I felt that if people wouldn't be kind, then why should I?"

He paused. "…And as soon as I started being dark and calm, people noticed me."

"But were they nicer?"

"No."

"I don't know about you, Gaara," Nori said wisely. "But I think…that everyone loses. At least when you were younger you tried to be nice."

Gaara shrugged.

"But you're still nice," Nori said. "At least…to me. Why is that?"

Gaara turned red. "It's just…you were the first friend I ever had."

"You'd have more friends if you were nicer," Nori said.

Gaara glared.

Nori slapped her hand in front of her mouth. "I mean…"

"Forget it." Gaara said. He curled up a little and closed his eyes. "I'm sleeping."

Nori looked at both Gaara and Shikamaru. She knew it was her fault she had gotten them into this mess, even though it was partly SASUKE'S fault. But that was besides the point. There's no way they'd be able to find the teachers and other students soon. She had to do something.

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That seems like enough for now. CLIFFHANGER! Now the wait will be UNBEARABLE. For all of us. Anyway, R&R please!

-TTF