"Where the hell is this cabin!?"
"Calm down, Ino-Pig. It can't be too much farther. There are only two more cabins left!" Sakura sighed as her best friend disregarded her logic and chose to instead continue complaining. In all honesty Sakura was just annoyed as Ino. They must have passed at least twenty other cabins already with no luck. They were walking along a dirt trail that had branched off from the clearing, on either side were two rows of cabins that stretched deep into the tree line. Looking back, Sakura couldn't even see the Rec Center anymore though there were still plenty of campers mulling around the road.
"I mean I swear Forehead! How are we expected to get to the cafeteria on time every morning if our cabin is so far away! My hair doesn't just magically wake up like this!"
"I thought I told you not to call me that, Pig!" Sakura sent a death glare towards her friend who replied by sticking her tongue out.
"You know I say it with love." Sakura rolled her eyes, turning her attention instead back to the last two cabins.
"There it is!"
"YAYAYAY! Finally! These heels are killing me!"
"I still don't know why you thought wearing heels to camp would be a good idea."
"First impressions, Sakura! Duh." Ino shot a smirk at her pink haired friend as they climbed the few steps up to the cabin door. "I really hope this place doesn't smell."
Ino held her breath as she slowly pushed the door open. Then exhaled in surprise. "Wow…this actually isn't half bad."
Sakura stuck her head around her friend's shoulder to peer inside. And was pleasantly surprised to see clean furniture in the living room and even a decent little kitchen type area, though the only appliances were a small fridge and a microwave. There was a table in the center of the room that had four chairs, though it could have easily been used for up to ten people. Along the back wall were only two doors, which meant that they would have to double up on bedrooms.
"This place might not be so bad after all. Decent living, lots of boys, no parents, lots of boys, not a single bug in sight, and did I mention, lots of boys." Ino squealed, grabbing Sakura's hand and pulling her inside.
"Would you cool it with the boys this summer, Ino. Don't you remember why your parents sent you here in the first place."
Ino just rolled her eyes. "If my parents really wanted to straighten me out, they wouldn't have sent me to a camp that HAD boys. Anyways, an all girls camp would have been cruel and unusual punishment." Ino tried to look at Sakura with her sad pout face, but that only caused a chorus of laughs to erupt from the two.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"That must be our roommates!" Sakura quickly dropped her bags, ran to the door, pulling it open only to be met with a fist flying at her face. "AHHH!" Sakura threw her hands up to defend herself, but the blow never came. Peeking around her crossed arms, she saw the owner of the closed fist looking just as shocked as she was. He was tall and blond with blue eyes that rivaled that of her friend's. She followed the stopped fist down to the wrist where another pale hand was holding it back. The boy who had stopped the blow was glaring at the blond. He had dark black hair that stuck up in a very attractive way. The dark hair stood out against the pale skin, as did the eyes which were just as dark as the hair. He was gorgeous, unreal almost. And yet there he was, glaring at her with-
She did a double take when that thought registered in her mind. She had been so busy studying that boy that she hadn't even noticed that he had turned to rest his piercing gaze on her. She blushed, but then was angered. He had no right to be angry at her! This was her cabin!
"What do you two want!?" Sakura was seething, mostly because she was embarrassed from being caught staring, but they didn't need to know that.
"Chill Sakura. What's the problem anyways….Well hello. If it isn't boys!" Sakura flinched as Ino squealed near her ear. Then she just rolled her eyes. "Even if one of them is annoying." Ino stretched out the word annoying then stuck her tongue out at the blond boy.
Ino smoothly slipped between Sakura and the doorway so she could stretch out her hand. "I'm Ino, Ino Yamanaka. I hope you two are our neighbors!" Ino winked at the two dumbfounded boys, one of which turned beet red and the other who just scowled. Neither took her hand, which didn't seem to bother Ino in the slightest.
The blonde boy, who finally had his hand back, scratched the back of his head nervously. "I'm Naruto. This is the teme." Naruto grinned while his friend's scowl deepened and his eyes narrowed.
"Stop telling people that, dobe! Come on. I told you our cabin was on the right side."
The brooding boy left the two girls standing at the door along with a confused Naruto. "But this IS the right side!"
From a few feet away the boy sighed loudly in annoyance. "I meant my right. You were walking backwards, remember?"
"OH! Right! Well nice meeting…well nice meeting one of you I guess." Naruto cast a questioning look at Sakura, but when she gave no indication of speaking he leapt down the three steps and took off across the path.
"That was…odd."
"Whatever! Did you check out that dark haired boy! Too bad we didn't catch his name. You can have the annoying blonde. I don't think I can handle somebody who complains as much as him." Sakura sweat dropped.
"I'll pass. Unlike you, I didn't come here to get a boyfriend." But even as Sakura said it she couldn't stop the image of the dark haired boy from entering her mind. He was very attractive. The other boy was cute enough too, but Ino and Sakura both had the same taste in boys: tall, dark, and handsome. Check, Check, and Check.
…..
Hinata smiled politely as her new friend continued to talk about the new katana she had just gotten. Tenten seemed like a nice person and Hinata was thankful that she already had at least one friend in this strange new place. And by some stroke of luck, the two were even going to be living in the same cabin.
But this still did little to calm her nerves. This summer was a punishment from her father. She was too quiet; too shy; too weak-willed to ever have hope of taking over her family business someday. Not that she wanted too. Not that she had a choice. Her father had also sent Neji, her cousin, along to report in about her most likely. Or possibly this was punishment for him as well for a few years ago when he used to lash out in anger over Hinata's side of the family. Either way, it was nice having him along. His resentment had calmed with age and Hinata actually considered him to be something of a big brother now, even if he was only a year older.
Hinata was dragged from her own thoughts when Tenten burst out in happiness mid sentence. "Look! We finally found the cabin! Some hike, huh?"
The Hyuga heiress gave a small smile and a nod of agreement as they climbed the steps to the front door. Their two cabin mates had already beat them here and they could be heard bickering inside.
"At least I don't have a HUGE forehead, Billboard Brow!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY, INO PIG!?"
"YOU HEARD ME FOREHEAD!"
"Umm…are we interrupting?" Tenten gave a sheepish grin after the two girls had failed to notice their arrival.
…..
Neji watched from a short distance as his cousin and her new friend entered the last cabin on the right. Sure, he was a bit protective of Hinata now that they were friends, but his eyes lingered on the girl next to her.
Tenten.
Heaven.
Funnily enough, she seemed not to have recognized him. That was unusual for girls, what with him being the Hyuga prodigy. Just last year they had competed in the same martial arts competition. He had won every boys match, and she had won nearly all of hers up until facing a rather vicious blond.
He remembered her because of her concentration and her dedication. She had gone down fighting when most girls, and guys, probably would have thrown in the towel when faced with an opponent twice their size. And yet despite that, she had moved with a dancer's grace and a panther's ferocity. He had quite enjoyed watching her. Apparently she had not done the same considering she didn't give the slightest hint of recognition when he had stared at her earlier. But it was amusing to catch her off guard. She was cute when she was flustered.
Neji shook these thoughts out of his head. For one, they were highly irregular thoughts for the emotionless Hyuga prodigy. And second, he had just reached his cabin, which by some strange stroke of luck, was directly across from Tenten. Or maybe it was more than luck. After all, Destiny often likes to poke its nose into people's affairs, especially when the heart is involved.
…..
"What a drag…"
Shikamaru had finally gotten around to checking out the room assignment board only to find that he got stuck with the cabin furthest away from everything. Normally this wouldn't bother him, but seeing as how breakfast was mandatory at 7:30 am, he wasn't thrilled at the prospect of having to hike to the cafeteria that early every day for the next two months. At least everybody got Sundays off.
He sighed loudly and decided it was about time he peeled his gaze away from the clouds to check out where he was now. The path in front of him was empty and the sun was already showing the first signs of lowering. "Hm…guess I took a longer nap than I thought." In the distance he could make out the last two cabins. There were large windows on the front of each cabin, which basically meant that there was zero privacy. Great.
As he got closer, he noticed a rather pretty blonde laughing in the cabin to the right of his. His breath caught for a second, but there was no denying it.
White blonde hair.
Baby blue eyes.
"Ino…."
…..
After a round of introductions, and profuse apologies on Sakura's part, Ino had enlisted the help of her cabin mates in rearranging the furniture. The couch, loveseat, and two armchairs now formed a circle around the coffee table in the center of the living room. Hinata, who seemed to be a rather shy girl, had settled into an armchair, while Tenten, whose clothes screamed tomboy, had collapsed onto the loveseat. Ino and Sakura shared the longer couch, both leaning forward to get a better look at the activities sheet.
Activity Schedule: (Monday-Friday)
7 am: Breakfast
8 am: Archery or Art
9 am: Volleyball
10 am: Soccer or Tennis
11 am: Group Initiative Course
12 pm: Lunch
1 pm: Karate or Aerobics
2 pm: Canoeing
3 pm: Swimming
4 pm: Snack
5 pm: Basketball or Cheerleading
6 pm: Break
7 pm: Dinner
8 pm: Campfire
11 pm: Lights Out
Since there were three buses, that meant about 150 kids were at this camp. However, the activities were separated into age groups, 14-15, 16-17, and 18, with around 50 kids within each age group.
There were a couple of activities that were required by all campers, such as canoeing, volleyball, swimming, and…. "What on Earth is a 'Group Initiative Course'?"
"No idea. Probably something stupid like trust exercises. We are 'troubled teens' after all." Tenten swung her legs off of the couch to come into a sitting position. She had a smile on her face. "I'm going to sign up for basketball, soccer, archery, and karate for the daily activities. What are all of you going to do?"
The other three girls stared at Tenten with widened eyes. "You can't possibly keep up with all of that on top of the required activities! It's too physically demanding!" blurted out Sakura.
Tenten laughed nervously. "Sure I can. It's only for an hour a day for each activity, and I like all of those sports."
"Well good luck with that! Don't come crying to us if you can't make it back to the cabin after all that!" Ino stuck out her tongue and got a chorus of laughter from the girls around her. "I'm going to sign up for Art, Tennis, Aerobics, and Cheerleading." She flashed a smile, flipping her long hair over her shoulder and striking a mock pose.
Tenten rolled her eyes in humor. "Way to take all the easy ones."
Ino pouted, turning to look at her best friend. "What about you?"
Sakura looked over the activities one last time. "I guess I'll do Art, Soccer, Aerobics, and Cheerleading." Glancing up at Tenten she raised her hands up in defense. "I'm no good at Karate or Basketball, and don't even get me started on my complete lack of aim!"
Tenten laughed along with everyone else. "I'm just glad I'll have someone in soccer with me. Do you play soccer, Hinata?"
The quiet girl shook her head no. "I do like Karate though. I'll be joining Art, Tennis, and Cheerleading though, sorry."
"That's alright! I can't wait to spar with you in Karate!" The two girls grinned at each other, but before anyone could ask another question there was a quick knock on the door.
Ino jumped off the couch since she was the closest to the door. She peeked around the corner before throwing the door open wider so everyone else could see.
…...
Naruto stood impatiently by the doorway. "Can't we go turn the papers in now? It's almost 7! That means food!" His friend Sasuke sighed in annoyance while Naruto's other two roommates maintained their original positions. The one with the spiky ponytail, Shika-something, looked like he had fallen asleep on the couch, while the other one, Neji, maintained his stiff-back position in the armchair.
"We have to fill the papers out before we can turn them in, dobe."
"I did that already! It only takes a second."
"What are you taking then?" Naruto was surprised to hear the guy he thought was asleep ask the question.
"Ummm…" Naruto glanced at his messily filled out form. "Archery, Soccer, Karate, and Basketball. All the other options are kind of girly."
Sasuke nodded his head in agreement as he filled out his form. Neji didn't say anything, but he leaned forward to fill his out too.
"Troublesome….that sounds so exhausting. I'm just gonna sign up for Art and Tennis."
"You have to fill up every timeslot." Neji spoke up sounding very authoritative.
"Ugh, fine." Shikamaru lazily opened his eyes to scan the page. "Karate and Basketball then. Aerobics is too much moving and Cheerleading is for girls."
"So can we go now?" Naruto yelled as he waved at the door.
"I suppose. My cousin is next door though. Let's go see if her and her roommates would like an escort."
Naruto made a pained look, thinking back to the loud blonde from earlier. Sasuke sighed in annoyance as well, but neither said no. If anyone had been paying enough attention, they might have noticed Shikamaru's body stiffen and his eyes widen in panic for a moment before relaxing back into his usual lazy features.
Neji nodded his thanks at the rest of the guys and joined Naruto at the door, Sasuke and Shikamaru lagging behind them.
…...