Neji didn't hesitate for a second when he slid into the seat next to Tenten. She didn't seem surprised by it either, though he noticed his cousin giving him an odd look. It didn't last long though as Naruto whispered something into her ear that sent her into a fit of laughter. Neji narrowed his gaze at the two, wondering if perhaps he ought to break up whatever was going on there, but just as the thought crossed his mind a sharp elbow landed roughly against his ribs.

"Leave them alone. You don't have to go all 'protective sibling' on Hinata. She's a big girl." Tenten stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to her food.

Neji rubbed his throbbing side. "You didn't have to use physical violence to get my attention. A simple tap on the shoulder would have sufficed."

Tenten just shrugged her shoulders. "You strike me as the kind of guy who responds better to things of a more physical nature."

Neji's eyes widened slightly. Sure, she wasn't wrong, but the way she said it implied a special type of activity. She seemed to reach that conclusion at the same time as he did and her face quickly turned red. "I'll pretend like I never said that if you do." The words tumbled out of her mouth in one breath and once again he found himself oddly enjoying how flustered she was.

He tipped his head to the side, mocking deep concentration. Tenten grew even more agitated and went to throw a fist into Neji's shoulder so that he would stop teasing her. He caught her hand in his easily, midway between them, which he could tell surprised her. They sat there sizing each other up for a moment. "Deal."

"Holding hands again are we?" Tenten quickly drew her fist away, and Neji turned to find Ino leaning over the table, her head propped up in both hands. Everyone else had bemused expressions on their faces as well.

"Don't be ridiculous. I was just going to punch him and he caught my fist. He's got fast reflexes." Tenten sent him an inquisitive glance out of the corner of her eye. So he was definitely right. She didn't recognize him from the multiple tournaments they had competed in over the years.

"Hm-hmm. Whatever you say. I've got my eyes on you two." Ino slipped back into a seated position and quickly leaned over to whisper something into Shikamaru's ear. He looked at her incredulously for a second, but whatever she had asked him, he agreed to halfheartedly once she stuck her lower lip out in a pout.

Neji sighed in embarrassment. It wasn't like him to get caught in compromising positions, even if it was just holding hands (or fists), and he certainly didn't like being the butt of everyone's jokes. But even as he was thinking this, his eyes couldn't help but wander to the girl seated next to him as she talked animatedly with his cousin.

…...

Luckily, since the first of the activities were starting the next day, the counselors had let all of the students go back to their cabins early. After the grueling ten hour bus ride, everyone was exhausted and had said their goodbyes at the fork where the path spit into two. Sleeping arrangements were quickly agreed upon. Sakura and Ino. Tenten and Hinata. Shikamaru and Neji. Naruto and (a very unhappy) Sasuke.

Tenten was the first one up at six the next morning. She had laid out her clothes the night before so she wouldn't wake Hinata, and silently slipped out of the bedroom. It was still dark out as Tenten leapt down the stairs of her cabin. Her morning routine normally involved a half hour jog, but seeing as how she had a lot of activities on her plate for the rest of the summer, she had decided just a morning stretch would suffice.

She reached her arms over her head and twisted her waist to the left and right, then bent down to touch her toes. She was just about to stretch out her calves when she heard the front door bang shut over by the boys' cabin.

Neji was leaning on the railing watching her bemusedly. He was already dressed, wearing a tan T-shirt and black running shorts. "Do you always wake up this early?"

She smirked. "I could ask the same of you."

"I asked first." He quickly retorted.

"I normally do a thirty minute jog, but since my whole day is pretty active, I figured I would just stretch for a bit. Your turn."

"I meditate in the mornings." Neji pushed off of the railing and made his way across the clearing to a tree near where she stood. He motioned at it. "Mind if I join you?"

Tenten smiled brightly. "Not at all."

…

Sakura moaned as she rolled over to kill the beeping monstrosity Ino had set out on the bedside table. Somehow, despite the awful noises ringing out from the alarm clock, Ino still managed to look like she was sound asleep. As she turned the face to look at the time she groaned loudly. It was 6:20 am. And seeing as how it was a ten-minute walk to the Mess Hall, they only had half an hour to get ready for the day.

Sakura was thankful now for Tenten's suggestion of packing a bag the night before. It had her swimsuit, a hairdryer, a hairbrush, some make-up, and a change of clothes, as well as a medical textbook that was small enough to not weigh her down. Ino had included a straightener in hers, as well as two extra pairs of clothes. She had insisted that wearing a skirt for cheerleading was a necessity, but Sakura was more worried about lugging the bag back and forth all day.

Looking at the clock one last time Sakura figured it was about time she woke Ino up herself. "Ino….Ino, wake up!" No response. "INO!" Still nothing. Sakura exhaled loudly, getting annoyed with her best friend. Still half asleep herself, Sakura threw her covers back, picked up her pillow, and chucked it right into the blonde's peacefully oblivious face.

…

"AHHHHHHH! WHAT WAS THAT FOR BILLBOARD BROW!?"

Hinata jumped awake at the sound of her two roommates screaming at each other in the next room. Her heart was racing from the unexpected wake up call and she had to take a moment to compose herself while she became reacquainted with her surroundings.

She was in her room alone. Tenten must have woken up early and slipped out, seeing as how her go bag was missing as well. Hinata ran a hand through her tangled hair. A quick shower would see to those.

She daintily slipped out of bed, cringing when her bare feet came into contact with the chill floor. She made a dash for the only bathroom in the cabin, which was located in the living room, forgetting to grab her clothes in her hurry to escape the cold.

Ten minutes later, the steam from the shower provided a much warmer exit than her covers had earlier. She quickly ran a brush through her wet hair before realizing, with dread, that her clothes were still in her room. Sighing softly, Hinata slowly inched the bathroom door open. She didn't hear anybody and the kitchen was empty so she opened the door all the way. It only took about a tenth of a second for her to regret that hasty decision.

Her shower must have lasted longer than she had originally thought since there were now three boys sitting in the living room. She was thankful that Ino had rearranged the furniture so that all three had their backs to her. Tenten was the only other person in the room and her eyes widened in surprise and horror when she saw Hinata standing there dumbstruck in nothing but a towel.

"Hey! Umm…so…uhh…what activities are all of you doing?" Tenten's voice sounded strained and Hinata could only imagine the confused faces the three guys were giving her. But Hinata quickly caught on to what Tenten was doing as the girl began to wave her hands around wildly. The guys probably thought she was losing it, but Hinata could tell that it was her cue to make a dash for their room three steps away.

With all three guys grudgingly laying out their schedules for Tenten, Hinata took off at a run. The second she slipped (quite literally) into her room, she slammed the door shut, a bit more forcefully than she had anticipated. As she leaned up against it, her heart racing frantically, she could hear Naruto in the other room.

"What the hell was that!?"

Tenten was feigning ignorance. "What was what?"

Hinata laughed to herself, making a mental note to never forget her clothes again. She beat some kind of record with how rapidly she got dressed, hurrying to go join the others outside. They were all sitting in the same places when she joined them a minute later, her bag over her shoulder and her hair still damp from the shower.

She smiled gratefully at Tenten as she joined her on the loveseat across from the guys. "Thank you, Tenten."

"What are you thanking her for?" Naruto asked curiously.

Hinata blushed a deep shade of red. Neji and Sasuke didn't seem phased though. They had probably already guessed at what had transpired, putting two and two together what with Tenten's 'performance' and the steam still seeping out of the open bathroom door.

"N-Nothing!" Naruto just shrugged. Thinking to himself about how odd girls acted in the morning.

"Where are Ino and Sakura?" Everybody just shrugged and Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Last I checked they were straightening their hair. I don't see the point considering we have swimming later." Hinata, perceptive as she was, noticed the way her cousin tried to suppress his grin and nod of approval. "I normally wouldn't be so annoyed, but Ino tried to attack my buns with that hot spindle torture device of hers."

Hinata couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her. "You mean her hair straightener?"

Tenten replied crossly. "That's what I said, didn't I?"

"Oh stop throwing a fit! I bet your hair would look really cute if you let it out of those monstrosities on top of your head."

Ino and Sakura both walked into the room looking more ready for a photo shoot than a day of intense and grueling activities. "For your information I like these 'monstrosities.' They keep the hair out of my face."

They guys looked rather uncomfortable as the girls bickered back and forth about the pros and cons of hair functionality verses style. Hinata, taking pity on them, took it upon herself to break up the catfight.

"We should probably be going soon if we want to make it on time. Where is Shikamaru?"

"Hn. He is insisting that breakfast doesn't start until 7:30 am." Neji looked a bit annoyed.

"I even pulled him off the bed to try to wake him up and all the lazy bum did was curl up on the floor!" Naruto looked even more frustrated than Neji, while Sasuke just stuck with his favorite facial expression, a scowl.

"He'll show up when he wants to, no changing that. Come on! Last one to the Mess Hall has to grab him breakfast." Ino strutted out of the cabin, Sakura at her side. The three guys, thankful to finally be out of there, rushed a little too quickly to the door, and Hinata and Tenten took up the rear.

Tenten laughed to herself abruptly, taking Hinata by surprise. "What is it?"

Tenten waved her hand around while she tried to catch her breath. "I doubt those three will ever make the mistake of coming to our cabin in the morning ever again."

Hinata joined in with her laughter as they continued down the path.

…

Even though Ino was the second one to the cafeteria (after Naruto of course), she was the one who grabbed breakfast for Shikamaru. She was glad they had gotten past the uncomfortable bit quickly. Now she could act like herself again. She had decided last night to treat him like she would any other guy she had just met. But she was also finding it hard to flirt with him like she did the others. Maybe it was because it was still a little awkward even if they were both ignoring it, or maybe it was because of their past history. It was hard to treat him like any other guy because in reality, for all that she flirted with them, she never cared about any of the other guys.

Ino also kind of liked the fact that she could still get him to do the things he didn't want to do. Like last night when he had flat out refused to help her by spying on Neji. She pulled one puppy dog pout and she owned him! She'd have to get Sakura in on it next. Maybe Hinata too, though she wasn't sure what with Hinata being Neji's cousin and Tenten's friend. Of course that could also be her way of getting the inside scoop.

While Ino and Sakura gossiped back and forth between each other, the cute silver haired counselor from yesterday cleared his throat.

"As you all know activities start today. The goal here is to basically make your lives miserable since that is what your parents are paying us for. So don't expect any of the instructors to go easy on you and don't expect to sit on the sidelines doing your nails." He swiveled his head just slightly to the side, but it was obvious that he was talking about a group of three girls who had brought an arsenal of makeup and hair products to breakfast. "So eat up. Head to your first activity when you're done."

When he finished, he lifted his book back up to his face, completely immersed in whatever he was reading.

Ino glanced nervously down at her watch. It was nearly 7:45 and Shikamaru still hadn't made his grand appearance. Dragging her gaze away from the cafeteria's double doors she cut off Sakura's rant about not having enough free time to read mid-sentence. "I'm going to run back to the cabin really quick."

"But activities start in 15 minutes. It will take you at least that much time to run there and back, and that's only if you run…"

Despite Sakura's attempt to stop her, Ino was already halfway to the door, shoving a napkin full of biscuits and bacon into her bag as she shuffled down the aisle.