i just came to dance (july)

—

It's finally here.

The day that Naruto's been looking forward to for what seems like forever—it's finally here. He's so excited he can't keep still.

The beach.

(The sound of waves crashing against the sandy shore, the saltiness lingering in the air…)

The beach!

(Seagulls cawing as they fly through the blue skies, ice cream vans playing familiar jingles as they slowly roll down the street…)

The bea—

"If you don't sit still, I swear to God, I'm going to duct tape you here and leave you when we reach our stop." Sasuke holds his wrist in a death grip, and Naruto gulps, allowing himself to be pulled back into his seat.

"You wouldn't!"

"Do you want to try me?"

"Nah, it'd just waste all your energy. I'm thinking of your well-being, see?"

"Well-being my ass."

Naruto has been saving up for this trip all year. With the allowance that he gets from his aunt, there's only so much money that can be put to the side while ramen continues to exist in the world. The idea struck him last summer when he was lying in bed with nothing to do; that it'd be fun if everyone went on an outing like this! Sometimes, Naruto thinks all of his friends are too serious or too depressed. As a person of a higher state of being who is able to achieve constant happiness, it's his duty to brighten everyone up.

According to the train schedule, they should reach their destination in about half an hour. The clock is approaching noon; Naruto can barely contain himself from the excitement. The beach. The beach!

"So tell me again, why did you plan all of this?" Ino asks him. "You rarely ever put so much effort into something."

He shrugs. "Because we've never all hung out together like this? It's always at school and that's so boring, don't you think?" Not to mention the terrible fallout between her and Shikamaru right as the summer break started—whatever happened between them, it's awful enough that they haven't even talked to each other once since they all met up this morning. Shikamaru and Ino are childhood friends, and not being able to talk to each other just isn't right.

Naruto makes a mental note not to date childhood friends if it just goes down the drain like that. He glances at Sasuke. And blanches.

He's sitting beside Sasuke, with Sakura and Ino across from them. The two girls are sharing an iPod and listening to music together. Across the aisle from them is Shikamaru, Neji, and Hinata. (Apparently, Neji didn't even want to come in the first place, but he was obligated to since Hinata was coming. Naruto just thinks he wants to see his cousin in a bikini.) Those three are sitting quietly, without so much as a peep. How do they keep all of their thoughts in their head without having them leak from their mouths?

"So," he says to Sasuke, who's gazing aimlessly out the window, watching the scenery fly by, "who do you think will be hotter in a bikini: Sakura, Ino, or Hinata?"

Ino throws her handheld mirror at his face.

—

"Why do I have to share a room with you?" Sasuke grouses as they unpack their bags once they reach their motel.

"I was being considerate," Naruto retorts, "since I figured you and Neji together would be too much anal for one room."

"I wanted to room with Shikamaru, actually."

"You wound me, Sasuke. Really. I thought our friendship meant more than that to you."

"What friendship?"

Naruto tosses a pillow at the back of Sasuke's head, and marvels at the way his hair still springs back to life after such a deadly blow. "It's a shame we couldn't invite more girls, though."

"Why?"

"Why not? Girls are hot, aren't they?"

"I think three is plenty."

Their motel room is cramped and a little old, but that's to be expected for such a cheap price. Initially, Naruto was surprised at how much it cost, considering how close it is to the beach. Naruto gets his things together: towel, sunscreen, wallet—and changes into his swimming trunks. Sasuke does the same.

"Three girls aren't enough, are you kidding me? Maybe ten…"

Sasuke visibly shudders in his peripheral vision. "Don't even make me think about it. I feel nauseous."

Sometimes, Naruto wonders if Sasuke's maturity was stunted at the age of seven.

Ten minutes later, they're outside of their room with Shikamaru and Neji, now waiting on Sakura, Ino, and Hinata to come out. Naruto is full to the brim with impatience. He takes it back—three girls are definitely enough.

"Let me remind you again," Neji says suddenly—

"That we are not, under any circumstances, allowed to ogle Hinata. Yes, we know. You've only texted us in advance last night and reminded each of us separately before we got on the train." Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "We really couldn't care less how much skin Hinata revealed."

"No matter how pretty Hinata is, she isn't worth going through the pain you'd have in store for us," Naruto agrees, nodding.

It's then that the girls finally come out. Each of them have a duffel bag (full of mysteries) slung over their shoulders. They've already changed into their swimming suits, but with a t-shirt thrown over top; so right now, much to Naruto's dismay, he can only see legs.

(But they're very nice legs. Miles and miles of legs. Hinata's legs, too.)

(He quickly averts his gaze from Hinata in case Neji is watching.)

"What's with you guys?" Sakura says. "All of you look like you've just received death threats or something." She doesn't know how close to home she is.

They couldn't have chosen a better day to come. There isn't a single cloud in the sky; the sun beats down on them as they head right across the street to where the beach is. Naruto's eyes scour the area, seeing the families, the couples, the groups of friends, everyone having fun. If he could choose, he would always be that happy with his friends, too.

Neji and Hinata set up the large umbrella that they brought for the occasion, while Naruto hastily strips off his t-shirt. "Let's hit the waves!"

"Calm down," Sakura laughs. "Unlike you, all of us are going to burn if we don't put sunscreen on."

An idea occurs to Naruto. "I can put sunscreen on your back, if you need help!"

"Nah, I got her." Ino snatches the bottle of sunscreen that he's just about to grab. "Why don't you help out Hinata, though?"

"Uh," he glances at Neji, who's unpacking everything, like the mother hen of the group. "I don't mind, but…"

"Don't worry about him. Neji! Can you help me with my sunscreen?" Neji's look of horror and slight repulsion nearly has Naruto falling to the ground in laughter, and Ino mildly offended.

Go, Sakura mouths to him once Neji steps over, nodding at Hinata. It surprises him that Hinata is actually wearing a bikini—he never thought that she'd wear anything other than her school swimsuit. He does a once-over: pale skin, flat stomach, slender arms—

Dammit, dude, do you want Neji to skin you alive?

Naruto sidles over to her. "Do you, uh, need help? With your back, I mean."

Hinata noticeably jumps when she hears his voice, her face suddenly turning ten different shades of red, as it always does when she makes contact with anything that breathes. Naruto's always thought that was kind of weird. "S-Sure, Naruto."

He applies sunscreen to her back with shaking hands, always afraid that Neji will come slaughter him at any moment. But when he hears him talking to Sasuke, he relaxes a little. "I didn't think you'd want to come when I invited you, to be honest," he says to Hinata, laughing sheepishly. "Since I thought you'd rather stay at home and study, or something. Sorry."

"Well, that's true," Hinata replies, almost as quiet as a mouse. "I'm not very good in social situations like this, but since it's summer, I don't think staying in all day, every day is very healthy either."

"That's right! You should get that mindset into that cousin of yours. He's so stiff it hurts."

She laughs a little. "I'll let him know."

Naruto slaps her on the back, and she squeaks. "Well, you're all done. Let's go swim!"

"What? Right now?"

"If not now, then when? Carpe diem, Hinata! Seize the day!"

"What are you doing, harassing an innocent girl?" he suddenly hears Shikamaru drawl. Shikamaru's arm drapes around Naruto's shoulders. "She looks like she's about to drop dead."

"T-That's not true, Shikamaru!"

"Ino and Sakura are ready to go," Shikamaru says. "Hinata, you burn easily, right? Be careful and don't spend too much time out in the sun."

"I won't. Thanks." Hinata gives him a shy smile. Does she like him? Who would like a bum like Shikamaru anyway? Ino probably dumped him because he was too lazy to even make out with her.

"Let's go." Shikamaru's arm locks around Naruto's neck and he drags him, painfully, out of the umbrella's shade and into the sun. "Leave the poor girl alone."

Naruto wails, "But I wasn't harassing her!"

—

It's almost evening when the storm hits.

Quite frankly, Naruto is appalled at how quickly the weather changed. Before he knew it, it had gone cloudy, and the sun had disappeared. By the time he notices, he's quite a ways out with Hinata and Shikamaru (Ino and Sakura kept on annoying him and bothering him to talk to Hinata, Hinata this, Hinata that, what the hell, they should shut up about Hinata!). He's competing with Shikamaru to see who can tread water the longest, and Hinata's keeping afloat by grasping hold of a large jagged boulder near the cliff face, watching with cheerful eyes. The others are back on the beach, playing volleyball—Naruto wanted to play too, but the other girls were so annoying that it was less painful to just do as they told.

"Was that thunder?" Shikamaru shouts, out of breath after treading water for so long. Naruto is nearing the last of his stamina too, but he isn't going to give until Shikamaru does.

"Thunder? Nah, probably just the waves. You're not trying to cheat your way to victory, are you?" Shikamaru looks unsure, but says nothing more. Instead, he concentrates on keeping his head above the water; he may be lazy, but he still has pride as a man. Naruto grins wickedly. Shikamaru looks like he's struggling.

"Um," he hears Hinata's timid voice a few meters away, "maybe we should head back? Others are swimming back to shore too."

"Yeah, yeah, after Shikamaru forfeits."

Nothing has ever happened so fast. One moment, it's merely cloudy—and the next, rain is pelting down on them, like ice falling from the skies. Naruto has experienced quick weather changes like this before, but never when swimming in the ocean—and he doesn't even think much of it when there is a loud, blaring announcement from the life guard for everyone to return to shore. They're not too far off, and—

"Naruto!"

"Shikamaru, you're freaking me out with all of your shouting, seriously." When Naruto turns to him, the smile nearly melts off his face. Shikamaru is white as a sheet and a look of sheer panic written all over his features. "What?"

"Hinata," he's barely able to choke out, and Naruto spins so fast he thinks he might snap his neck.

Hinata's gone.

"She was there a second ago," Shikamaru sputtered, now nearly sinking beneath the surface from disorientation. "Then a big wave came and she must have lost her grip because she was swept away—"

Naruto doesn't even wait for him to finish—he dives right down.

His limbs are aching from his competition with Shikamaru, but that hardly matters now—Hinata's down there somewhere. If they had swam back a few minutes ago like she had suggested, this wouldn't have happened.

It's difficult to keep his eyes open and his lungs are beginning to burn but he keeps kicking and swimming, lower and farther and deeper. She has to be here somewhere. She has to be.

It's only several seconds later does he realize that he's not truly swimming—he's being carried by the current too, drifting in an unknown direction. He can't see a thing in the water. He's about to suffocate. But in the ten, twenty seconds it takes to surface for air and go back down again, where will Hinata be? How much further will she have disappeared to?

Those are his last thoughts as all energy leaves his body and his eyes slip shut.

—

When he comes to, he's hacking and choking and feeling like every cell in his body is on fire.

"Thank God," Shikamaru breathes before collapsing on his stomach, his entire body shaking. Naruto doesn't register it though because he's still gulping in breath after breath of air; his eyes hurt, his nose hurts, everything hurts. Everything stings. Everything aches.

"Hinata," he manages, voice hoarse. He can still hear the waves, and sand and gravel digs painfully into his bare back. He's cold. "Where's Hinata?"

"She's here," Shikamaru mumbles, not moving from the fetal position on his stomach. "Don't worry. She's fine. I performed CPR on you both."

Under normal circumstances, Naruto would be grossed out, but instead of that, he is just very, very grateful.

He turns his head and sees Hinata lying beside him. Her eyes are closed, and she's breathing peacefully. "How did you find her?" he asks Shikamaru.

"I saw you first," the other boy replies tiredly. "You floated up to the surface a long distance away, but I spotted your blonde hair. But the time I got to you, you were already washed up here. So was Hinata." When Naruto looks beyond Hinata, he realizes they're in a small cave, made by the erosion of the waves after several decades. He can see the beach from here, even if it's a way's away. It's still raining heavily.

"Thanks," Naruto says. "For saving us."

"I'm lazy and occasionally a dick, yes, but I'm not a murderer. I'm offended that you think I'd let you die."

"I didn't think that—" When Naruto glances at Shikamaru, his face buried in his arms as he uses Naruto's stomach as some sort of pillow, he realizes how severely he's shaking. Naruto can't imagine what it was like for him in those several minutes—dragging him and Hinata side by side, administering CPR—not knowing if they'd breathe again. "I really mean it, Shikamaru. You can't have someone save your life and not thank them for it."

Shikamaru doesn't look up. "Yeah. It's fine."

Naruto stares at the cave ceiling. "It was my fault. I stopped us from heading back."

"It wasn't just you. We knew Hinata wasn't a strong swimmer and we still went that far out for the sake of treading water. It was the both of us. It was our fault."

"I'm sorry," Naruto says.

"I'm sorry too."

They say nothing more to each other for the next several minutes, but neither of them move, either. Naruto is comforted by Shikamaru's warm weight on him, like a steady reminder to not be too consumed by the terrifying what-ifs running through his head. He was the one who was supposed to save Hinata, but in the end, he had put the responsibility on Shikamaru.

And what if Shikamaru didn't see Naruto? What if he never found either of them? Never mind himself, since Naruto's always figured that not too many people would miss him if he suddenly dropped off the face of the earth, but Hinata—if Hinata never makes it home, if no one was there to force life back into her lungs—it's on him. It's all on him.

Naruto suddenly feels very small, and very insignificant.

Hinata coughs when she comes to, and Naruto shoots up, accidentally knocking Shikamaru to the ground. "Hinata," he says, crawling over to her. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I—yes, just thirsty," she replies, still disoriented. "What happened?"

Naruto laughs, not sure if the relief is more suffocating, or the guilt. "You just slipped under the waves for a bit. But you're okay now. We got you."

She sits up with little struggle, but she shivers, goosebumps all over her skin. "Sorry if I worried you."

"Don't say that! I'm just really glad you're okay." He forces a smile. "Are you cold?"

"Yes, a little."

"Here." He sits close beside her and pulls her close with both arms around her. "We can't make a fire and we're going to have to wait out the storm, so you're going to have to put up with me." He doesn't register her jumping out of her skin as he does so—he's just determined to do whatever he can for her now that he's conscious and not on the verge of death. "Shikamaru, you're going to get hypothermia if you don't come over here too."

"I'm fine," Shikamaru says. He's hugging his knees to his chest, voice empty and eyes half-lidded. Naruto doesn't know what to say, so he keeps quiet.

As the three of them wait in silence, Hinata falls asleep again, her head lolling until it presses against Naruto's cheek. He can smell the ocean in her hair. He subconsciously leans back into her; physical contact is not something he gets often, but having it now is an odd sort of comfort, even if it's in the strange girl who turns red at various times of the day. Everyone is warm. Everyone has a heartbeat. Everyone is important.

And eventually, he falls asleep too.

—

Naruto doesn't talk about it—and he tries his best not to think about it either—but, he supposes, it's only natural that one remembers from time to time how his parents died.

It happened when he was so young that he doesn't even remember firsthand, but his aunt said that it was a drunk driver. And Naruto grew up with a lot of bitterness and resentment—that because of one person's careless mistake, the thought to even get behind the wheel when they are clearly impaired—has always made him more determined not to many any stupid mistakes himself, to always be wary of others, to never put someone's life before his own desires. He will not be the person to tear someone else's entire world apart.

Growing up with no parents is hard. His aunt is good enough, but she's never been the warm, family type of person. She never wanted kids. He always wondered what it'd be like if he had a mom and dad like the rest of the kids, to go to the park and have picnics together, to—

Part of the reason why he's constantly screaming at the world is to out-scream all of the voices inside his own head.

But he did that today. He made a stupid mistake. And as he sleeps, he has faint dreams of screeching tires, flying debris, and melting flesh.

—

It's Hinata's gentle hands on his knees that wake him up. "The rescue team is here," he vaguely registers her saying softly in his ear. "Wake up."

His eyes open with difficulty, and he wonders if he was crying in his sleep. He can't remember what he dreamt about. "Rescue team?" Oh, right. He and Hinata nearly drowned to death and were only saved because Shikamaru is a quick thinker. Naruto forgot for a moment there.

Two people wearing life jackets, a man and a woman, help him and Hinata to their feet, and give each of them a life jacket to wear as well. "Don't worry," the woman says, "you're in safe hands now."

Shikamaru is already in the motorboat prepared. The bags underneath his eyes are darker than usual; he looks like death. "You okay?" Naruto asks him in a low voice when he slides beside him.

"Yeah," he says. "Just tired."

It's still raining lightly when they speed back to shore, icy droplets combined with cold wind. Everyone is quiet, absorbed in their own thoughts.

The others are waiting with the life guard when the boat touches the sandy beach. They rush towards them, various expressions of worry written all over their features. "Thank God," Ino says on the verge of tears, rushing towards Shikamaru and pulling him into her arms. "We all thought you died or something!"

We almost did, Naruto wants to say, but he decides that he's worried everyone enough for one day.

So he pastes a smile on, and says instead, "A little water can't hurt us! Ino, you must think really little of us!"

Neji is talking to Hinata in a hushed voice, and Sakura and Sasuke crowd around Naruto. Sakura's green eyes are wide and glassy. "Don't scare us like that!" she exclaims with a shaky laugh, lightly punching his arm.

He grins. "My bad. We found a cool cave to hang out in, though."

When Sakura steps away to check on Hinata, Sasuke asks in a low voice—low and knowing, always knowing—"What really happened out there?"

Naruto has never expected anything to get past Sasuke, so in those brief moments, he allows his smile to fade from his lips. "Shikamaru needed to perform CPR on both me and Hinata." It might be his imagination, but Sasuke's face goes one shade paler than it already is.

His best friend scoffs, turning away. "Moron."

"Sorry. It really was my bad this time."

"I hate you."

"Sorry." Naruto falls silent, his eyes on his feet. He's probably being overdramatic, but he doesn't want to imagine what would have happened if he and Hinata died, or how it would have affected the others.

The aftermath is anticlimactic; they all return to their respective motel rooms to shower and get cleaned up. Naruto appreciates the hot water on his skin, washing the ocean down the drain. But no matter how long he stands under the hot spray, no matter how much he scrubs, he can't get rid of the regret or the guilt, clinging to him like a second skin, contaminating the very air he breathes. Naruto knows that these are not feelings that are easy to get rid of, but he wonders if they'll ever disappear completely.

They spend the rest of the night in the girls' room, watching late night television channels, playing cards, and eating snacks. The rain continues to fall lightly on the roof until the early hours of the morning—at which point, Shikamaru has passed out on the floor, Hinata is breathing quietly in her bed, and Sakura is nodding off, occasionally tipping onto Ino, until her best friend elbows her in annoyance and she topples over the other way, onto Sasuke. Naruto's eyelids feel heavy and he can't find the energy to move his limbs anymore, but he can't sleep, either. He wonders why.

(Because if he closes his eyes, the next time he opens them, he might be gasping for air again, on the verge of death.)

"Are you alright?" Neji, who's sitting beside him, asks quietly. His normally impassive voice is now laced with worry. "You're not acting like yourself."

"Just thinking about earlier," Naruto replies, smiling. "I'm still a little shaken up by it."

"It wasn't your fault."

Naruto glances at Neji, surprised that he could say that when Hinata was caught up in that dangerous situation as well. "I never said it was."

"I know. But I thought I'd let you know that it isn't, in case you were thinking it."

Naruto rolls his eyes. "You're such a weirdo. Has anyone told you that?" Neji makes an indignant sound before smacking him with a pillow.

"Why am I even your friend," he mutters, switching his attention to his phone.

"Because I'm awesome," Naruto teases.

He is very, very glad for a friend like Neji.

—

They pack up their bags and return to the train station the next afternoon, the weather just as hot as the day before, before the storm hit. Naruto breathes in the salty air, and allows himself to start anew.

"So, when are we going to do this again?" he shouts cheerfully, and everyone shoots him incredulous looks.

"Let's just go to the pool next time," Sakura suggests, and they all laugh.

The trip back is amicable and enjoyable. Naruto allows himself to shout, make jokes, and laugh to his heart's content—because this is life, and he only gets one chance at it. He knows that now. He isn't going to waste it on moments that could have been, but won't ever be.

"Naruto." Hinata approaches them later when they're back in the city, her cheeks flushed and her eyes staring determinedly somewhere over his shoulder. "I just...I just wanted to thank you for yesterday. For keeping me warm."

The smile that blossoms on his face is unexpected, even to him. "It totally wasn't a problem, Hinata. I was cold too!"

Hinata's voice is gentle, so unlike Sakura's or Ino's. "I just wanted to thank you anyway."

He slaps her on the back and laughs. "You're welcome."

"What are you doing," Neji says, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. "Abusing my cousin?"

"What the hell, dude! You say that every time I touch her!"

A/N: Yeah, a lighthearted summer fic this turned out to be. The future chapters should somehow balance this one out—well, hopefully, anyway. Who knows what else is in store for these guys. :D

Thank you for your reviews last chapter! That seemed to be the most well-received one yet.