Chapter 6. Happy Three Friends

"Oi, Hinata! Come on, don't you sleep on me! We still have to make it to Kurenai-sensei's new place with all this crap, and as much as I adore you, I'm not gonna carry it all by myself, especially with you resting on my back! Ugh!"

The girl's eyes snapped open as she reflectively backed off from Kiba's back on which she, apparently, had inadvertently leaned as she blacked out while they were walking towards their former teacher's house.

"S-sorry... Uh... I'm just... I didn't sleep well last night," she confessed, wincing and squinting her eyes before readjusting her backpack and striding forward again.

"Yeah, we kinda noticed. Why, though? Don't tell me that Naruto is such a beast in bed!" She could hear his goofy smirk even without seeing his face, and although Inuzuka couldn't see her at the moment either, she still blushed at the lewd comment.

"K-Kiba-kun...! It's nothing like that! Please, stop being such a pervert," she stuttered, looking away shamefully.

"I must admit that he has a point. It is a little weird and unusual to see you in such an unhealthy state, and I also noticed that this is not the first occasion in the last few weeks. Given the fact that you've been allowed to date Naruto by your father, this assumption of Kiba is only logical," reasoned Shino who was carrying his own backpack as well as two heavy bags in his hands, just like his male teammate.

"Yeah, Hinata, you shouldn't be mad. We only wish you the best!" Kiba glanced at her over his shoulder and grinned jovially. "Anyhow, if it's not about Naruto being a sexual monster, then why are you so sleepy and tired lately? What do you even do these days? We hardly get to see you," he asked in a more neutral manner, sounding a little concerned and curious.

The girl was about to gasp at the question that wasn't unexpected yet still came rather suddenly, but her face remained more less impassive, and albeit it was something that could seem insignificant to a stranger who didn't know her, Hyūga was still very proud of this little achievement, because it was a great testament to her progress in training. After all, the kunoichi had never been very good at controlling her facial expressions and emotions. And now, she managed to do it somehow even in an uncomfortable situation where she was being teased by the two boys who'd known her almost throughout her entire life and thus couldn't be fooled easily.
Her new teammates would be proud... probably.

"I just train a lot lately... That's all. There is nothing for you boys to worry about," she said genuinely as her lips curved into her usual soft and warm smile.

"Training, huh? But for what would you need to try so hard? I mean, look at yourself, you are about to faint." Kiba snorted, but there was no suspicious note in his voice, thankfully; she couldn't tell the same about Aburame, though, considering the long and thoughtful peer he gave her without saying anything.

"Oh–it's all about my heritage. Father told me that I have to become much stronger in the following year if I want to be able to marry Naruto-kun and remain in the clan at the same time," she half lied without thinking, recalling the talk she'd had with Hiashi a week ago.

What her father really had told her was that she would be forced to virtually leave the clan anyway unless she wanted to be branded and put in the Branch House, which she obviously didn't. However, he also told her to work harder on her skills and mastery as a ninja, though he'd never stated the exact reason why was it a such necessity all of sudden.
Still, Hinata had no reason to complain or to question his will, so she just agreed – after all, training was exactly what she did every day recently, so it correlated with her plans perfectly. Although... to call what she was going through a simple 'training' would be a huge understatement.
Because training under Uchiha Sasuke turned to be utter hell for her. Sure, she'd never imagined him as the compassionate type, but he was absolutely merciless, never tolerating any sign of weakness in the members of their squad. And, actually, this was one of the few good things about him that she'd discovered so far – the man was truly fair and treated all of his subordinates absolutely equally when it came to their job, never showing any favoritism.

"Hm-m, I guess that's understandable. Well, training more can never hurt anyone, eh? Besides, the stronger you are the better. After all, we won't always be there to protect you!" Kiba chuckled, to which Hinata smiled politely again, but this time she felt a pinch of something bitter, and it was new as well as a bit bothersome – the slightest note of anger that ringed inside of her at his words.
She was the one who was going to protect them, not the other way around... She didn't need anyone's patronage anymore.

"Who is your trainer?" suddenly asked Shino, and this time Hinata actually flinched, snapping out of her gloomy thought and turning to her friend.

"Uh... Sorry, I'm afraid I'm not allowed to reveal the identity. It's the Hokage's order," she said apologetically, smiling at her second teammate who looked away – it was hard to read his expression without her Byakugan activated considering that he wore those big dark glasses that hid the upper part of his face.

"Figured as much. It must be a really strong and experienced ninja to push you this hard, so it would make sense if it is a Root member or even someone from the upper echelons," mused the boy, taking a deep breath and gripping the bags in a more comfortable way, finally returning his attention to the path ahead and seemingly losing any interest in the conversation.

Hinata sighed in relief, lowering her eyes to the ground and mumbling quietly, more to herself than to her friends:

"Yes... He is incredibly strong."

And another good thing about Sasuke was his professionalism as well as his knowledge. Perhaps Uchiha was not the best teacher out there (probably even by far), but he definitely knew what they needed to be taught. And he surely hadn't lied when he told them that he was leagues above them in basically everything. Next to their commander, Hinata and her fellows felt like some silly clueless genin level ninjas even when it came to elementary stuff the importance of which they'd always overlooked.

"Eh, that's a high praise considering that you date the strongest shinobi alive! I guess the dude is really good, then!" Kiba whistled.

"Uh...," Hinata frowned, giving Shino a careful glance. "In truth, I'm not sure how strong he really is. But I can tell for sure that he could beat all the three of us without any effort, Kiba-kun."

However, their pitiful level was quickly changing for the better. Either Sasuke was actually a far better teacher than he seemed to be, or they were very talented ninjas (which Hinata really doubted), but in any case, they were progressing very fast.

"No way! Is Hokage-sama teaching you himself?"

She almost chuckled at the ridiculous assumption.

"W-What? No-o-o! Of course not. Though... this person is close to Sixth-sama, in a way. And his training is good for me. So, please, don't worry about it. I've already learned a lot so far, and I've become stronger than before."

Well... not in Sasuke's opinion, certainly. Because he always was dissatisfied with their results, pushing them farther and further, up to their limits and even beyond them, pulling everything to extremes. That was exactly why Hinata barely got to sleep in the last few days – if she happened to get at least two hours to spend in her bed at night, she considered herself very lucky. Naturally, her body demanded for her to spend every minute at day time resting as much as possible, so she began to take naps everywhere she could... sometimes even on Naruto's shoulder when they visited the new cinema, or on Kiba's back like she'd just done.

"Ah, cool. I'm looking forward to seeing how strong you'll become when it's over, haha! We'll try to keep up with your might!"

She smiled painfully, not really having any energy or focus to listen to the boy's jabbering at this point anymore.
Was there even any point to add that every cell of her body was now itching due to the pain and fatigue? Every night nowadays did she get covered with multiple bruises and scratches which Naruto healed every time with his mysterious Yang power, but the constant strain in her muscles was not going anywhere, so she still felt like a mess.
Fortunately, her boyfriend didn't question her desire to train more even though he seemed to be quite concerned with her questionable condition. He respected and even admired her will to become a better kunoichi, and as for the reasons behind her wish, he'd never been that thoughtful to ask anyway... and although in any other case it would probably make her feel a bit sad, but this time it was definitely a good thing.
Because she would hate to lie to him, of all people, even though Hinata knew that it was inevitable and bound to happen at some point in the future regardless of her own wishes.

"Ugh, finally! Kurenai-sensei! We've come!" Kiba wiped the drops of sweat off his forehead, letting out a loud sigh and dropping the bags on the grass in front of the jōnin's brand new house, throwing his backpack right next to them and falling on his back the lawn, spreading his legs and arms in the way that his pose resembled a starfish, squinting and the warm rays of sun and panting.

Hinata sat next to him in a moment as well as Shino, hugging her knees. Kurenai showed up from the entrance of the building in a few seconds, smiling cheerfully at her former students and rushing to them.

"Oh, thank you very much, guys! You really have no idea how much you helped me here. We, retired ninjas, almost don't get payed anything these days, and with how low on money I currently am, I couldn't afford hiring somebody, so..." She lowered her eyes sadly in embarrassment as the woman came close to them, shaking her head.

"It's no problem, sensei! Come on, can you imagine us ever refusing to help you? Not happening!"

"He is right. We'd never do such thing," said Shino, pulling a bouquet of beautiful red flowers out of somewhere – Hinata couldn't remember him having it before, but she didn't care at the moment. "Happy housewarming, sensei." It was a rare occasion to see the introverted young man smiling at all, but his expressions were always genuine, so Hyūga smiled happily as well reflectively – it took her a few seconds to comprehend what he said, because their voices seemed to be distant now, echoing somewhere in the back of her consciousness.

"Yes. Congratulations, Kurenai-sensei," she uttered quietly, nodding.

"Thank you, thank you so much! You three are so lovely! Oh...," the older woman's dark red eyes narrowed at her which made Hinata return the gaze with caution and worry, looking at the blurry image of her face and shaking her head the next second, trying to focus.

"Hinata. What happened to you?"

The girl blinked a few times perplexedly.

"Uh... I'm sorry, sensei...?"

The woman rolled her eyes, sighing.

"You look like you haven't slept in days. Your face is paler than paper, and with these dark rings around your eyes, you resemble a panda. What are you doing with your health, silly girl? And, more importantly, why? Because if this is Naruto, I'm going to have a serious talk with your young man."

Hinata looked away, biting her lip.

"I... I'm training, sensei. It's nothing serious, but it is true that I don't get to sleep enough. Don't worry, I'm going to get some rest as soon as we are done helping you here, so–"

"No. You, young lady, are going home right now, and you will spend at least six hours to sleep and rest properly. Hinata, you really need it, trust my experienced eye. It will be no good for whatever training you are going through if you just faint out of exhaustion in the middle of a street or, even worse, in the middle of sparring."

"But–"

"No buts. Go and have some rest, Kiba and Shino will help me here meanwhile. Right, boys?"

They glanced at each other and shrugged simultaneously.

"Of course! What kind of question is that?" groaned Kiba.

"See?" The woman smiled. "No problem at all. If somebody asks, just tell your master that you've been helping me. I understand you took the whole day off the training schedule to do this anyway, am I right?"

Hinata nodded slowly, looking away shamefully. She really didn't fancy the idea of letting her old team down like this, but she couldn't deny that Kurenai's words were wise. No matter what Sasuke said, the girl doubted that she could stand it this way for much longer.

"Y-Yes... I guess you are correct."

"Then go and have some good rest right now. And when you have some free time, come to my place and tell me how things have been going, will you?" She blinked at the younger kunoichi and hugged her tightly like a mother would hug her beloved daughter. "Come on. Go now," she whispered, patting Hinata's cheek lightly, to which the girl smiled happily and nodded.

"Thank you so much, sensei... I will definitely visit you as soon as I can! And Mirai-chan, too! I miss her so much...! I–"

"Go already!" The woman laughed merrily, waving at the girl dismissively as she ran out through the humble wicket.

Hinata then rushed towards her clan's estate, but she stopped before she passed even a hundred yards, frowning.

Her father wouldn't approve of her sleeping midday. Besides, she'd already told him that she was going to spend the upcoming few hours on helping Kurenai. It would be suspicious if she came back now to lazy around... But what to do, then?
The girl smirked, feeling the familiar warmth in her heart.
Of course! How could she have forgotten that she virtually had another home now...? One that would one day, she hoped, become her main one...

The kunoichi turned around, running in the opposite direction. It didn't take her longer than a few minutes to reach Naruto's place, even though she tripped a couple times on her way and stumbled upon a few civilians, apologizing quickly before keeping running.
She knocked at the door, really hoping that he'd be at home – as far as she was concerned, her boyfriend didn't have to go anywhere today, so he most likely was just resting inside, watching TV and lazying around himself. Unlike her, he could afford it...
And, just as she'd predicted, the door opened in a few seconds, revealing the adorable sleepy face with the familiar cute whisker marks on the cheeks.

"Huh...? Hinata-chan? I thought you were going to be busy today... Oh! What the hell am I saying? Please, come in, but, eh... It's a bit messy inside," he smirked apologetically, scratching his nape and making a welcoming gesture with his unwrapped hand.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. It's okay." She pecked his cheek quickly and walked in as he closed the door.

"So... What's up?" he asked simply, and this was one of the moments when she loved Naruto even more than she thought was possible – for how easy it always was with him. No unnecessary questions, no formalities, no boring explanations and hollow conversations. Right now, this was just what she needed the most. Someone who would understand everything without words.

"Uh... I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but... It's really hard to explain, but I'm very tired, and... I'm a bit afraid to go home at the moment, I think father would be mad at me. Would you mind it if I used your bedroom to take a nap...?" she gave him a pleading look, to which the boy smiled happily, nodding quickly a few times.

"Eh... Sure! I mean, of course you may stay here as much as you want! Actually, I'm not sure if it's appropriate to say such thing to a girl, but you really... ain't looking well," he came closer to her, hugging the kunoichi tightly as she immediately melted in his strong arms, feeling as her legs were becoming numb – she wasn't sure if it was caused by the fatigue or by the feelings his warmth raised in her heart.

"Thank you," she whispered thankfully, and Naruto kissed her softly on the lips, to which she responded with gratitude and love.

"You're welcome. I'll try not to be noisy, maybe I'll go and buy us something to eat for dinner meanwhile. Alright?"

"Sure," she shrugged and smiled, turning around and almost limping towards the bedroom, closing the door behind her back in a few seconds and sliding down to the tender carpet on the floor.

Looking around the small room, Hinata shook her head slightly, amazed by the blond's ability to create chaos even out of so few things he possessed. She'd only been to this room once before, and it was only for a few moments when they were looking for his ID card, but now she could study it thoroughly without any rush.
There was nothing expensive around, of course. Even the bed itself looked very humble, as though Naruto'd taken it from some old barracks. Aside from the single nightstand and a big old wardrobe, there were only countless clothes scattered around the place – one of his t-shirts was even hung on the chandelier above the bed.
Uzumaki surely was very ascetic, and this thing she respected and admired, but his slovenliness... Perhaps she would need to help him with that... eventually.
Hinata smiled dreamily at the idea, crawling towards the bed and unbuttoning her jacket and taking off her skirt.
It took her just a few moments to fall into the long awaited blissful oblivion.

-~o0o~-

By the time she woke up, it was already completely dark behind the window, so Hinata found it hard to realize at first where she was. It was the first time in her life when she woke up in someone else's bed, and although the young Hyūga knew for sure that nothing inappropriate had happened to her, somehow she still felt a bit embarrassed when she sat up in Naruto's bed, realizing that she was only dressed in her knickers and the black t-shirt.

She then blushed even more when she remembered that she hadn't covered herself with the blanket, meaning that someone had come in while she was sleeping and took care of her. Which logically meant that Naruto had seen her in her underwear...

Feeling ashamed, embarrassed and excited by the idea at the same time, the kunoichi took a deep breath, trying to calm down. After all, he hadn't seen her completely naked... and was there something weird in a boy seeing his girlfriend with a bit less clothes on her than usual?
Hardly.
Which was why she, suddenly inspired by her own courage and perhaps, in the back of her mind, also wanting to play with Naruto a little bit, she lowered her legs on the floor slowly, stretching her back and yawning sweetly before getting up and walking towards the door.

Striding out of the bedroom, Hinata frowned a bit, unable to see the blond anywhere in the guest room – the TV was still on, though, and the lights were switched on, so he was probably at home, just in a different room.
Therefore, looking around perplexedly and rubbing her sleepy eyes, Hyūga walked across the corridor to the kitchen from where she could smell the rather tasty flavor that made her stomach groan in hunger as the white eyes widened in surprise.

Was Naruto cooking...?
She came closer to the door, opening it and walking in.

"Naruto-kun, I–" The girl stopped then, feeling like she was about to faint at the sight that made her want desperately to teleport to a very distant land for good... or just to die.

"Hey, Hyūga." Sasuke's face remained as impassive as always as he leaned against the back of his chair, shuffling cards with his hands and eyeing her up and down before adding, "Naruto should be right back."

"Oy, teme! I'm gonna kick your ass now for sure, you'll see! Oh–Hinata-chan? Finally, you're awake! Uh..." She turned around, looking at Uzumaki who lowered his eyes slowly, looking appreciatively at her long bare legs. "I–I think you forgot to dress up, eh–"

The girl felt her heart skipping a beat or two. Never before in her life had she felt so embarrassed and intimidated, with two men staring at her half naked body in such an awkward situation, especially with one of them being someone who seemed to have a habit of constantly makeing fun of her and of berating her, too.

"I think it's fine," said Uchiha. "This way, our little party is at least not as dubious as it seemed to be. Now, this at least distantly resembles the way two straight men should spend their evening," Sasuke smirked, sipping the bamboo beer out of the big glass cup.

"Teme...! Turn away and stop looking at her before I beat the crap out of you!" groaned Naruto, stepping forward and standing between his girlfriend and his friend.

Uchiha shrugged and rolled his eyes depreciatingly.

"And you, of all people, told me that I lack sense of humor. The irony. There is not much to look at anyway."

"Sasuke–!"

Hinata yelped, unable to withstand it anymore and rushing back to the bedroom, slamming the door in a second and panting heavily, covering her face with her hands and whimpering.
This was awful... She made a clown out of herself in their eyes. And, of course, Uchiha had to mock her right away...
She growled quietly, suppressing the upcoming tears and hitting the door behind her back with her hand in frustration.
This man was just unbearable! So indignant and rude...! And at the same time, absolutely unpredictable in his behavior, completely unreadable...

Sometimes, she almost felt like she could relate to him in many ways. For instance, during their training, Hinata always understood everything he told her and taught her before he would even finish the sentence...
And whenever they sparred, it felt like dancing with someone who could break her like a mere chopstick without any effort – it was both very exciting and impossibly dangerous. She felt like a child playing with fire, but Hinata still loved every moment of it, she just couldn't help it. It made her feel so alive.
In fact, it was only partly the truth that he forced her to train so much. Yes, he insisted on spending as much of her time as possible on working on her skills, but in truth... she loved every moment of it. Sometimes, Hinata felt like she was slowly becoming addicted to working out, because the notable changes in her made her feel the happiness of the degree comparable only to being with Naruto.

Unfortunately, it seemed that only in these rare moments did she like being around Sasuke. Because other than that, it seemed like she just couldn't stand Uchiha's arrogant face... the face that didn't seem so arrogant or any evil at night for some reason.

"Hey... Hinata-chan, are you there?" The quiet knock on the door made her flinch, shifting her head to the side slowly.

"Y-Yes...," she almost whispered, suddenly feeling sick. Why was this all making her feel so bad...? No tragedy had happened anyway, now that she'd calmed down and was able to rationalize it. So what if Sasuke had seen her in her underwear? So what if he said a few of his usual sarcastic comments about her...?
Nothing unusual for a bunch of adults they were.
Yet still...

"Uh... Can we talk? I mean, I understand that Sasuke is a douchebag sometimes, but he didn't mean to offend you. It's just the way he is, you know. Please... Don't be upset, will ya?"

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Naruto was right, Sasuke was just... Sasuke. By this moment, she'd known him enough to realize that this was just his common way of talking to people outside work – he was impolite and sarcastic, but whatever he said in such manner usually wasn't meant to harass anyone specifically, because he simply didn't care about anyone around him enough to bother with such things. Besides, whenever he really wanted to put someone in their place, he was completely different...
She'd witnessed it herself. He didn't talk at all at such times.

"I–I'll be fine, Naruto-kun. I'm s-sorry... I simply wasn't ware that he was here, so I didn't think about dressing up before coming out. Just–just give me some time... ne?"

There was a short pause before she heard him drawling doubtfully:

"Okay... I guess. We'll be in the kitchen. I cooked some pizza for the three of us, so if you feel hungry... Anyway, take your time. Love you!"

She smiled.

"Yes... Thank you. I love you, too."

Hinata heard him walk away, and it made her feel the strange relief. Usually, the girl wasn't very fond of complete solitude, but now was probably an exception, because she truly required some time to think. She needed to understand what was wrong with her mind... And to make it up.

The kunoichi sat down on the floor in the lotus pose, closing her eyes and beginning to meditate, trying to calm herself and deepening into her thought.

Naruto... the way he made her feel in this situation was the easiest one to comprehend. She'd wanted some time alone with her boyfriend for once, and just when she'd finally received such opportunity, he brought his best friend to his house while she was there, too. Naturally, it made her feel jealous and quite upset – she wasn't sure if the word 'mad' would ever apply to him coming from her.

But was it really that unexpected for him to do so? After all, Sasuke wasn't around very often. Even though he remained in Konoha, the raven haired ninja rarely showed up to his friend and to anyone else aside from their ANBU squad at nights. Clearly, Naruto missed him, and the girl knew that he also wanted to help the Uchiha to adapt to the life in the village somehow – they'd discussed it before.

On top of all this... She'd been asleep. Hinata realized that it would be too selfish to blame Naruto for inviting Sasuke to his home when he had nothing to do on his day off. And the fact that he'd somehow miraculously managed to convince his friend to spend some time like guys of their age normally did... it was impressive to say the least.

And Sasuke himself... If she even understood a single thing about the usually gloomy and silent man, he was trying hard this evening to show his appreciation of the jinchūriki's efforts. He was unusually chatty and playful, now that she recalled their brief conversation... Or perhaps this was the real Uchiha that had always been there behind the mask he used to protect his heart?

She bit her lip, suddenly feeling the strange curiosity. Perhaps... Maybe Uchiha Sasuke wasn't such a bad person, after all. Even though their philosophies were different, she now shared a lot of his views on life, the village and the world, so... what if...
What if she gave it a chance? And more importantly...

Her eyes widened at the long awaited realization of the reason that'd made her feel so uneasy.
No, it wasn't the situation itself... It was because she realized that this accident was a mere demonstration of what was to come. If she wouldn't change her attitude towards Uchiha soon, considering the relationships Naruto had with her and him, such situations would likely happen often in the future. Perhaps even worse things would...

Hinata shook her head and clenched her fists.

This was unfair. Did she even have a choice...? Everything that'd been happening to her lately was pushing her to the necessity of befriending this man. They would need to be on friendly terms as team members, that was out of the question; they would also require an explanation for their interaction outside the squad, because realistically, it would definitely happen at some point and thus would raise questions from those who didn't know about their job.

And finally, without Sakura, she was currently the only one who was capable of becoming the uniting link between the two friends. Hinata did realize the vitality of their relationship for themselves, for Konoha and even for the entire world. And was she ready to take the responsibility for being the one who would cause them to drift apart...?

And because of what? Due to her own selfish whim to stay away from the rare person that raised conflicted feelings in her heart? Someone who, now that she thought about it, simply forced her out of her comfort zone whenever they encountered? Was this even a bad thing, what he did to her...? Or was it rather the sole reason that drove her to improving herself...?

"Hyūga," the familiar voice from behind the door made her flinch and slowly open her eyes.

"S-Sasuke-san...?"

"Yeah. Be quiet, I don't want Naruto to hear us."

She frowned.

"B-But why...?"

She could hear him sigh.

"Just shut up and listen. Naruto may be an idiot, but he is a shrewd idiot. If you don't want him to figure out what you do at nights, I highly advise you to stop being a sissy and to come out as soon as possible. I don't like you either, but I can at least pretend to be civilized around you for the sake of our cover. Surely, you should be able to do the same. You are not a twelve years old genin, are you?"

The kunoichi swallowed, listening to his unusually soft voice.

Was this really the only thing he cared about...? Or perhaps this was just the bizarre way of him actually trying to be nice to her?
The girl smiled at the idea. Yes, Uchiha Sasuke definitely wasn't such a bad person, then. He had his flaws just like everyone else, but... ultimately, he was just a very tired and disappointed man.

Perhaps... if she'd become his friend... Together with Naruto, they'd be able to convince him that he still had reasons to live.
That their world wasn't completely hopeless...
That there was still light to look up to.

"Whatever. Make haste, or the idiot will start thinking that it's a big deal."

She could hear him walk away, and then Hinata smiled happily as she finally felt like her mind and heart were in peace.

It shouldn't be so hard, she decided. No matter how powerful he was, Sasuke was still a human, just like all of them. And if she showed him the kindness and compassion he seemed to be so unfamiliar with... Perhaps she'd be able to make his icy heart melt. To make him see that he still had people who cared for him and who could share his pain... Who understood him.

The kunoichi put her pants and her jacket on, not bothering to button it, and walked out of the room, slowly approaching the kitchen once again.

"He-e-ey, Hinata-chan! Welcome back! Please, take a seat!" Naruto pulled another chair towards the table, making a welcoming gesture and putting a plate with a slice of deliciously looking pizza in front of his girlfriend as she settled down, glancing carefully at Sasuke who counted out five cards and handed them to her.

"Are you playing?" She met the neutral gaze of his black eye, suddenly feeling unusually courageous and comfortable in his presence – perhaps for the first time ever.

"S-Sure," she smiled, taking the cards from his hand.

Naruto smirked, raising his cup with beer and whistling joyfully.

"Now that's what I call a party!"


Usually, it is not very hard to get under the shell of a person who suffered a lot of traumatic events in the past, especially if you have figured out the way to do it. The question is, are you sure that you would like what you would have to face there?

See you in the next chapter: The First Mission!