Alright guys great practice, now hi

Alright guys great practice, now hit the showers!" Called out Iruka, waving the school's male soccer team off the field.

"I've never liked that saying, how does one exactly 'hit' a shower?" Shikamaru Nara said, wiping his sweaty forehead against his less sweaty forearm.

"Shikamaru, for someone who doesn't like worrying about things, you worry about the stupidest things." Said Naruto Uzumaki, wiping his face on his shirt.

"And you'd know a lot about stupid things baka." Sasuke Uchiha said, walking in front of him.

Naruto, who happened to be holding the ball, dropped it to the ground before kicking it and delivering an accurate hit to the back of Sasuke's head. The ball rolled back to Naruto's feet and he flicked it back up into his arms.

"Duck, Teme."

"Naruto, why can't you kick like that when we play?" Neji Hyuga asked, the captain of the team.

"I do Hyuga, you're just too busy trying to get away from your opponent to notice."

"Neji, can I speak to you for a moment?" Called Iruka, saving Naruto from Neji's reply.

"But practice today was fantastic, our teamwork even at the beginning of the year is to be admired!" Exclaimed Rock Lee, the vice-captain of the Konoha Academy soccer team.

"That's coz we're the best!" Naruto and Kiba Inuzuka cried out together.

They had just completed their first training session of the new year, which all high schools admitted would bring Konoha's strongest team in years. The previous year's captain had been all about flashy moves, but now that Neji was the captain, strategy would be introduced and the team's players would be put in the positions that best suited their strengths.

As the team got closer to the gym, some of the guys started speeding up, eager to see what was inside. As much as team practice was a tradition, so was watching the cheerleaders after practice and on the way to the showers. The boys' locker room was attached the gym, the gym where the girls were always practicing on the same day as team practice.

Entering through the large doors, the boys fell silent as they spotted the girls in mid-routine. They stood as a group in front of the closed doors as they watched the girls with hormonal interest.

The girls were chanting a familiar cheer, moving through the familiar moves, and none of the guys noticed the one girl who was in formation, but was only mouthing the words, not shouting them. They finished the cheer, and the boys were about to cheer for them when Sakura Haruno, the pink-haired cheerleader captain stepped forward and addressed the other girls.

"That was great guys, and to all our newbies, you picked that up very well. Now," She paused, pointing to one girl, a girl with midnight blue hair. "This year will be great, because one of our new teammates will add something extra. Hinata, after we run through that routine, do you want to move out and improvise a few moves?" The silver-eyed girl indicated to as Hinata nodded without saying a word. "Great! We'll start from the last 'Konoha, Ra, Ra, Ra!' and then Hinata, you do your thing."

The male audience watched as the girls ran through the last section of the very familiar routine before the blue-haired girl stepped out of formation and moved through a series of fluid backflips, then a one-handed round-off before landing in the splits.

The girls cheered and squealed, before surrounding Hinata and complimenting her on her skills.

"It should be illegal for a girl to bend that well." Croaked Kiba.

Several of the other guys swallowed and nodded, not taking their eyes off the flexible girl. So involved in their male fantasies, they didn't notice when the door to the gym opened and Neji walked in.

"Neji, you missed it, the new girl is so bendy. It's really hot!" One of the defenders on the team said.

None of the guys were surprised by Neji's appearance, because the Hyuga male was not adverse to the idea of watching the girls, after all that's how he met his girlfriend Tenten, but his suspicious glare worried them.

"Which girl?" He asked.

"That one," Kiba pointed to Hinata. "She must be new here, I'd remember a rack like that."

Next thing he knew, Neji was up in his face, glaring at the Inuzuka male. "That is Hinata Hyuga, my cousin."

Kiba paled instantly, actually frightened for his life.

Naruto decided to jump in. "Why hasn't she been here before?"

Neji looked from Kiba, willing to answer the innocent question. "She was granted a full scholarship. She used to be home-schooled but she moved to Tokyo to get the most out of her education and to take advantage of her skills."

"She's a very good gymnast." The blonde continued observantly as the girls made their way over.

One girl ran over. Sakura squealed as she saw her boyfriend and threw herself into Sasuke's arms, engaging him in a deep kiss. The blonde cheerleader named Ino Yamanaka looked on in jealously, thus completely oblivious to the unusually tender look being sent way by her best friend Shikamaru. Tenten walked right up to Neji and kissed him lightly on the cheek. He didn't like public displays of affection.

Hinata stood back slightly, not making eye contact with anyone and feeling a little bit out of her depth. She missed Kiba's lustful gaze and Naruto's look of quiet fascination.

"Hinata-sa…Hinata, how was your first day of school?" Neji asked after saying a quiet hello to his girlfriend.

Hinata looked up for the first time, her lavender gaze flitting over the group. "G-Good Neji-nii-san. It…it is very strange though, having d-different teachers and p-people to interact with. I enjoy ch-cheerleading."

Sakura squealed and threw her arms around Hinata's shoulders. "You are so cute, I never met anyone as shy as you. Anyway, this is the gang. You obviously know Neji, but this sexy man is my boyfriend, Sasuke Uchiha," Said boy nodded politely. "This is Shikamaru Nara, resident genius, though why he's friends with Ino-Pig-"

"Shut up Forehead-Girl!" Ino retorted.

Sakura waved it off. "This is Rock Lee-"

"We've met before!" Lee said delightfully, bowing deeply to Hinata. "At the-"

"Lee, I'm talking! And this is Choji Akimichi, chef extraordinaire and goalie for the soccer team. And that tattooed boy ogling you is Kiba Inuzuka. Don't worry, he drools over all the girls. And last, and probably also least-"

"Hey!"

"Is Naruto Uzumaki, loudmouth and school prankster. There's also Sai and Shino, but they're not here, they don't do extracurricular sport."

"N-Nice to meet you all." Hinata said, light pink blush dusting her cheeks.

Kiba was about to speak when he caught Neji's glare, so he scurried off towards the showers instead. Shikamaru followed suit soon after, not really interested in watching Ino glare jealously as Sakura and Sasuke made out. Choji followed. Several of the guys on the team stopped flirting with some of the other girls in the cheerleading squad and also headed for the showers.

"What do you think of Konoha Academy Hinata?" Naruto asked cheerfully, thrilled at the prospect of making a new friend.

Hinata looked at his eyes for a moment, before her gaze shifted slightly away from the expressive blue orbs. "I-It's very different to what I'm used to. I do like the sc-school spirit. It's one g-giant community."

"I bet Neji's been bragging about how good our soccer team is!" He leaned forward, cupping his hands around his mouth as if he were revealing a big secret. "He's not exaggerating, it's all true!" Hinata giggled at his carefree antics. "You have a nice laugh." He squinted, looking at her face. "And your eyes are almost like Neji's…but yours are prettier."

Hinata blushed a deep red. "A-Ah, th-thank-you Uzumaki-san-"

Naruto waved his hand dismissively. "Naruto's fine."

"N-Naruto-kun…"

Neji clapped Naruto firmly on the back. " School is locked up at 5.30, we'd better get to the showers while we still can." There was a steely, protective chord in his voice. "Hinata, we can leave as soon as I'm done."

Hinata nodded and moved back over to a gymnastics mat in favour of watching Sasuke and Sakura continue to make out. Tenten had already left, having to help her family out at their store.

Wanting to let off some suppressed giddy energy, she did five successive cartwheels and then did a handstand, walking from one side of the mat to the other on her hands. Letting her feet fall forward, she stretched herself into an arch.

That was how Neji, Naruto and the now disentangled Sasuke and Sakura found her. Sakura looked on in amusement and Sasuke and Naruto looked at her like she was impossible. She kicked her legs back until she was and arch again, this time looking like a stretching cat. She stood up and grabbed her bag as Neji called her over.

The Hyuga teens said goodbye to their friends before heading off home, leaving the best friends to their own devices. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke decided to go and get an early dinner.

After dinner at the Hyuga Tokyo estate that same night, Neji, Hinata and Hanabi were sitting in Hinata's room doing their first homework of the year. Hinata's younger sister Hanabi was five years her junior, 12 years old. The room was filled with the sounds of turning paper, scribbling pens, and the tap of a keyboard.

In the comfortable silence of the room, the shrill sound of a famous pop singer filled the room, signalling the receiving of a text message on Hanabi's phone. The keyboard stopped tapping as the young girl reached beside her to pick up her phone. The quiet 'beep' of typing a text message was heard for 30 seconds, before the keyboard typing began again.

"H-Hanabi, I can't understand your constant communicating with your f-friends. D-Don't you run out of things to talk about?"

"No, we talk about the same things…same people."

Neji gave a grunt of understanding and Hinata turned back to her textbook while Hanabi