A/N: Bella in the hizzay! Okay, anyways. Hi. Sorry this is a bit delayed, but a lot's been happening. SB01 (my very lovely stepsister) was visiting, so we were a bit preoccupied with everyone else's wonderful works! And you know, family outings and such, blah-di-dah. So yeah.

WHO HAS READ CHAPTER 539? HOLY CRAPALAPPA! NOOO NEJI!

In other news, he didn't tie his hair, and it went FWOOSH in all its wonderful silkiness~ AND A NEJISAKU MOMENT! *melt*

Anyways, enjoy the newest addition to A-Z: The Dream Team, Uncut!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

L is for Locks: because they all have pretty hair—she noticed.

The four cloaked ANBU raced for their home village with the rain heavily pounding on their heads and backsides. This wouldn't have been a problem, really, but even the best ninja had their limits. Moments ago, Sakura had just finished healing a (giant, gaping and very very deep) hole in Sasuke's side. Shikamaru's hand was nearly sliced off, and Neji had a long slash across his left thigh.

Needless to say, she was tired.

"Neji, we need to stop." She shouted over the pouring rain. She usually needn't to, since she was in the middl of the formation and the captain was right in front of her, but the sound of water falling from the sky in unusually large droplets drowned her voice out.

"Tired already, Sakura?" Sasuke teased, running alongside the medic. His Sharingan was on, bringing her to the conclusion that even the great Uchiha Sasuke needed assistance in the horrible weather as well.

"Not all of us measly humans are as talented as you." She remarked with a scoff. "Anyways, can we please, please stop for the night?"

Without looking back, Neji simply deadpanned. "No."

Shikamaru caught up with the rest of the group, as he was trailing behind a little slower than usual. "Sakura's right, Neji. Visibility is low for people like us without your doujutsus. It's best if we stop for the night to regain our strength. You must be pretty drained too."

Neji stopped, seeing logic in Shikamaru's reasoning. "Fine," he said. "There's a town nearby. We'll stop there for the night and set to leave for Konoha at 5 AM sharp." The captain concluded, setting course a little more to the west than their original target.

~O~

"ONE ROOM? Are you serious?" Sakura cried, pounding her fist on the receptionist's counter. The keeper of the small inn was already in a pair of striped pajamas, looking very cozy in a terrycloth robe. Sakura was obviously envious of the man as she was dripping wet. The innkeeper should consider himself lucky that she retained her white mask on, as he was saved from the menacing curl of her lips.

"I-I-I'm sorry ANBU-sama," The innkeeper stuttered, handing them the key. "There are many travelers that have gotten stranded during the storm and found themselves here."

Sakura groaned out loud, grabbed the key from the fearful innkeeper and found her way to room 107. She unlocked the wooden door, quickly slipped out of her boots, threw her cloak over the ladder of the bunk bed that she indirectly claimed was hers, pulled out a package scroll from her backpack (which she threw onto the bed as well) and entered the bathroom, all without stopping her strut.

The three boys followed in wake, as she left the door wide open in anger. They each gave a sigh (whether it was internally or externally) as they settled themselves neatly, their own areas contrasting the kunoichi's greatly.

Shikamaru took the bed under Sakura's, being a long range fighter that could quickly defend the medic. Neji took the lower bed of the bunks next to the door, so he can monitor movements outside to the best of his capabilities. Sasuke would take the bunk above him, being the fastest of the four.

Shikamaru settled himself in first, sinking into the thin mattress of the lower bunk. He tried to lie down without dampening the bed with his gear, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to do anything about it after. A moment of contemplation later, he then slumped on the floor, sitting in a puddle of rain water dripping from his person.

He began to remove his armor, and Sasuke and Neji had began to do the same. Shikamaru then reached upwards with a tired arm and pulled out the leather cord out of his hair, letting his his brown locks fall to his shoulders. He shook some excess water out, and raked a hand through it before he was satisfied with a certain amount of smoothness.

Sasuke had shook out his hair, leaving it in a tangled mess very different from his usual spiky hair-do. The wetness matted his dark locks to his forehead and to the back of his neck. With that, he definitely did look a lot like Sai. He paid no mind though, proceeding to clean the blood off his katana.

Neji, on the other hand, was struggling with the knots in his long brown tresses. Though he's not very particular with his hair, he didn't like the feeling of knots in it. He looked as if he was ripping the strands apart to remove said knots, but was failing miserably.

At that moment, Sakura exited the bathroom, dressed in a clean ANBU uniform, minus all the armor and gear. Her hair was quite damp, but was brushed straight through. Even when wet, it didn't even touch her shoulders.

After replacing her scroll in her pack, she noticed Neji's trouble with his hair. "Need help?" She offered.

Neji stopped the ministrations on his chocolate brown locks to glare at the girl. "No thank you." he deadpanned, too proud to let anyone assist him with his crowning glory.

"C'mon," Sakura pushed, once again opening her toiletries scroll. She pulled out a fine-toothed comb and started approaching her captain with it. Shikamaru and Sasuke could see the discomfort mar Neji's features as Sakura forced him into a sitting position on his bed. She then knelt behind him, making her taller than him. She brought the comb down on his hair, untangling just some of the knots that appeared due to the rain.

The other members of the team stared at Sakura calmly untangling Neji's hair, not one of them making a motion to take the unoccupied bathroom.

"Wow," Sakura admired. "You're hair's so soft."

Neji, in an attempt to gain his manly pride back from the conniving medic, smirked. "I've been graced with a very prized genetic combination."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he collected himself to take the bathroom next. "Fancy Hyuuga talk for 'it's naturally prettier than Sakura's'."

Before said medic could retaliate, Shikamaru cleverly disappeared behind the bathroom door.

Sasuke continued cleaning his weapons as Sakura continued brushing Neji's hair. He had stopped struggling, and succumbed to the routine bringing of the brush through his hair. He wouldn't admit it, but it was very relaxing. Hands that could heal. Neji almost jumped though at the realization that the same hands could kill.

Obviously, the lone kunoichi couldn't stand the silence, and started speaking. "I've been thinking of growing my hair out." She thought aloud. "I mean, out of the four of us"—the men assumed she was referring to the females in their core group of thirteen—"I have the shortest hair."

"Hinata-sama's hair is long by tradition." Neji defended.

"I wasn't talking about the girls." She said. "Although, Hinata's hair is pretty too. And so is Ino's—Ino's hair has always been pretty—and, come to think of it, if Tenten didn't wear her hair in such uptight buns, her hair'd be nice too."

Curious little Sasuke then joined the conversation, quirking an eyebrow at the kunoichi. "Then who were you talking about?" He asked with a seemingly bored tone.

"Oh, you mean by the four of us?" Sakura repeated her former statement. "I really did mean the four of us. The team."

To prove her point, Sakura had stopped brushing the Hyuuga's hair. She then reached out for Sasuke on the opposite side of the bed, who flinched at her touch.

"See, you've got long hair too." She noted. "Wow, your hair's really thick." She bunched up the loose black tresses in her petite hands, admiring yet another wonderful genetic combination in the form of Uchiha Sasuke's scalp.

"Hn," Sasuke gave his trademark grunt, but didn't raise his hand to swat away the medic nin. She started massaging his scalp. He closed his eyes in pleasure and lithe fingers pumped with healing chakra swept through his hair. He then opened one to see the reaction of a certain Hyuuga.

Only a stoic-boy-language expert (or another stoic boy) would realize that Hyuuga was livid.

Shikamaru exited the bathroom and took in the whole scene.

An oblivious Sakura, mindlessly droning to a smug Sasuke about the dangers of overusing Sharingan while massaging his head. A seemingly calm Neji watching the two, but with a spark of anger in his eyes.

Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk. If he were a lesser man, he would've doubled over in laughter.

"Hey Shikamaru, you've got nice hair too!"

If he were a lesser man...no, even a man of his calibre would've declined Sakura's scalp massages in return for his life.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review (ALMOST 100! I'M SO FLATTERED! *fans self*)! I love hearing what you guys think of the story. And I love how everyone loves the Neji-Sasuke rivalry! What's smexier than them smirking at each other over our little cherry blossom? ;;) And no future chapter of this story will go by without a dose of Shikamaru! I've been re-watching the "bring Sasuke back" arc and of course, Shikamaru is EVERYWHERE.

K, long author's note. I'm gonna bid you adieu now.

ADIOS!

~Bella