The sun was rising.
The sky vanished all traces of its previous darkness only to be replaced by a canvas of deep reds and oranges, bleeding into the sea. Even the birds which had hid nowhere in sight at the dusk of night were now flying carefree and high once again.
Fuck.
Her hands rubbed at the dark circles around her eyes. She had the worst sleep last night and it was all because of Naruto. It wasn't that he was a snorer or even a kicker. In fact, the blond had fell asleep almost immediately, an incredulous act. She was almost jealous of how easy he had slept while she tossed and turned (luckily he was a heavy sleeper). It was just far too awkward sharing a bed with another man, let alone one that she had been in competition with for years. Granted that she and Naruto weren't strangers, but they definitely weren't friends. And worse, the blond was completely oblivious to the situation. He had knocked out and left her to freak out by herself.
Taking in a deep breath, her thoughts were quickly overcome by the smells of nature around them. The air was refreshing from the mist of morning dew and salt from the ocean. She eyed the body of water longingly. Yesterday's sun had done a number on her hair and it had been pain staking to sleep with what felt like a film of sweat on her body. Maybe she might just take a quick bath… With another stretch of her limbs, she looked behind her, making sure the blond was fast asleep before heading towards the sea.
Tugging. He woke up to something tugging his hair painfully.
"Ow! Haruno-san I swear-" Naruto got up abruptly to brush away her hand only to find a pinchy crab. The crustacean swung at him again with its pincer, looking for another handful of his blond roots before it met with a vengeful rock. Nice he just caught dinner, he grinned.
Stretching his limbs he noticed the sudden free space to his left, finally accounting for his missing co-worker. She couldn't have gone far, he thought, probably washing up or something, as ladies do. He shook his head as he headed out to look for her. The pink haired business woman always had a way of looking completely seamless, her hair was always pinned back with whatever stiff-collared business suit she was feeling for the office that day. Even yesterday, she had managed to look completely pristine following her scavenge, hair tucked into a neat ponytail. It wouldn't be a complete surprise if she was somewhere near the cargo looking for a polished scrap of metal to clean up by.
That said, he found no trace of her near the cargo. Instead he saw her by the shores… Naked. Wide cerulean eyes followed her form in the water as she rinsed her hair. It was out of its usual ponytail for the first time, instead, long and slick against the sensual dip of her back. A blush formed on his face as his eyes trailed down her figure, following each and every rise and fall of her deep curves before ending at her shapely bottom.
It was as though he was seeing a completely different person. Sakura was always strict and reserved. This was even evident in the clothes she wore, always opting for a covered up pantsuit instead of a skirt and blouse. Of course this didn't mean that she wasn't attractive, she was often the talk of the office's male demographic who spoke highly of her mysterious allure and wit, not to mention that exotic pink hair and green eyes combo. It never really made sense to him, she was far too anal for him. He needed someone wild, uncalculated, and eager. Of course this incident didn't change much of what he thought of her. Though he had to admit, she was definitely alluring.
It was when he was eating breakfast that she found him again, her hair back in it's usual ponytail. He was already forgetting the incident till he nearly choked on his granola bar at her approach. The smell of saltwater around her brought back images of her slick body and left a maddening blush on his cheeks.
"So I was thinking we explore a little more of the jungle today to try and look for some water and food." She stated, taking a granola bar from the rations. "Rations aren't gonna last forever."
"Sure. I'll pack some stuff and meet you by the cargo when you're ready to go." Naruto replied without meeting her gaze. He scarfed down the rest of his granola bar before rushing away. Damn hormones, he blamed, fighting down the angry blush.
It was about a three hours into the expedition when they had finished the two bottles of water they'd brought. There was no trace of fresh water in sight however the excursion had yield a surprising amount of development into the jungle, with Naruto having left a trail of makeshift 'flags' made out of banana leafs and branches to track their route.
"The soil is getting drier here, there's not going to be any water if we go farther." Naruto stated, a muddled frown on his face at the lack of progress. What a waste of a day.
As if reading his mind she replied, "Three hours into the wilderness and with nothing to show." Her delicate wrist wiped at the sweat on her brow. The jungle was more humid than the shores and it was made evident in the heated blush all over her body.
"I told you we should have turned left at the big rock." He retorted, clearly the heat was getting to him as well. "The soil was healthier on the left. If you had followed my directions maybe we would have found water by now."
"Uzumaki-san! That entire pathway was covered with poison oak!" She spat back.
"That was clearly kudzu!" Naruto retaliated. His hands fists balled up at his sides showed his frustration. Before she could put in another word he had relinquished his anger on a palm tree.
Bam.
Did she just hit him? He rubbed at the top of his head to smooth the pain. Funny, the impact had calmed him down from his fit.
"Uzumaki-san you lucky fool! You hit a coconut tree!" She exuberated, holding a kickball sized green coconut up to show him. So that's what hit him.
"And look!" She exclaimed, her pink ponytail was thrown back as she looked to the sky. "There's a mango and banana tree over there!"
He felt himself grin at the prospect. With all the bantering, they hadn't even noticed the change in foliage. The low shrubs they had encountered before were instead dominated by towering trees. Naruto smiled widely, peering at the dozens of fruit bearing trees surrounding them. They won't have to survive on rations anymore.
"Oh fuck me that's good." He moaned biting into the mango. Juice ran down his chin and his forearm but he didn't care. This was heaven on his parched palate.
"Mhm." She agreed, greedily digging into her banana.
The anger had completely dissipated between the two as they filled their bellies with fruit. Satiated, Naruto made his way up another mango tree to stock up before departure. On his way down he noticed small bumps forming on the skin of his palms. Seeing as they weren't irritating, he shrugged them off.
Bad idea.
It was until they were back at camp when he realized he was seriously itchy. The bumps had made their way across his chest and up to just below his neck. Letting go of the cargo he was carrying, he broke all lengths of self-control and began mindlessly scratching himself, unaware of the all too knowing eyes on him.
"You're an absolute idiot." She was seething. "What did you touch?!" He didn't know why she was so angry he was the one in pain.
"I don't know." He struggled. Was it getting harder to breath? "There were bumps on my skin after the, uh-" Shit, he was starting to feel a little light headed. "After I climbed the mango tree."
This time it was definitely not a coconut as he felt a fist driving into his head before he passed out.
