Warm water, rushing, sliding, rising into the air. There are few other sensations that most would believe to be equal to the feel of warm water washing over the body, and those who believe there to be an equal to a soak in hot springs find it in the embrace of another, in waking up to find themselves in the loving arms of another. Two such people who believed that an embrace could be equal to the cleansing waters were Hyuuga Hinata and Uchiha Sakura, gently lowering themselves into the spring of heat that the inn had so generously provided to all of its guests.
The bath itself was quite expansive, a small fall of water atop a hill of stones fed the hot spring, the walls enclosing it painted to emulate the sensation of drifting within the sea. Even the very door by which the two had entered was painted as to appear to be a single small island floating in their midst.
Hyuuga Hinata stretched her arms and allowed the warm water to relax her of all tension, her mind reflecting upon the past day, amazed at how quickly her life had changed. As she stared at her reflection in the water, a voice broke the silence.
"So Hinata-san, what's your relationship to Naruto?" Sakura asked from across the pool
"H-he i-is m-my f-friend… My best friend…" Replied Hinata after a long pause.
"Naruto has that effect on people, he can make friendships and connect with others quite easily." Commented Sakura
"M-may I ask w-why you call N-Naruto-kun by name only? And w-why h-he addresses e-everyone b-by f-first n-name as w-well?"
"Oh, that, well Naruto is the closest thing I have to a brother, and he has the same relationship with everyone else in our little family. You're one of the few people I've met that Naruto called with a suffix though, so in truth I should be asking you, why is it that Naruto calls you Hinata-san, and not simply Hinata like he would with most others?"
"I….I…I d-don't k-know…"
"Well that's all right, there's a lot I know about him as a sister, like what's his favorite food and when he goes to sleep, but he has so many different faces, I don't know him as a friend as well as I should."
"Y-You all came from K-Konoha?" Hinata said after another long moment of silence in an attempt to change the subject
"Yeah, we're all from Konoha, born and raised."
"I too was born there, but right after I was born, the clan left… Do you think I might've known you all had I stayed?"
"Probably…"
"M-may I-I a-ask a-another q-question?"
"Go right ahead"
"W-why d-did y-you g-get m-married to S-sasuke-kun? I don't mean to p-pry… But y-you s-seem r-really y-young f-for someone to marry f-for l-love…"
"Oh, that's all right. Sasuke-kun, Naruto and I were on the same team as genins, why we're still on the same team now. Sasuke-kun and Naruto were always fighting back then, they seemed to be foils of one another almost, Sasuke calm, cool and collected, and Naruto loud, obnoxious and unpredictable. Despite our constant fighting, we were as closely knit as family, until one day, Sasuke was tempted for power and betrayed us to join the sound country. Naruto brought him back though, both of them were barely breathing when Kakashi-sempai brought them back. When Sasuke woke up, he seemed changed. You know of Uchiha Itachi, right?"
"Y-you m-mean t-the S classed criminal?"
"Yeah, Sasuke-kun's only goal up to that point in life had been to kill him, for Itachi had murdered Sasuke-kun's entire clan, and as Itachi's brother, Sasuke-kun saw it has his duty to kill him. Yet, something happened during Naruto and Sasuke-kun's that caused him to look beyond revenge, and the moment he woke up and looked into my eyes, he proposed to me."
"T-that…S-sounds s-so r-romantic…"
"I was so happy, Naruto was bounding up and down, begging to be the best man, and Sasuke-kun smiled so freely during that time, that I wished that it would never end. But right after the wedding, it was back to hard, back breaking training. For the past three years, I've been the apprentice of Tsuande-sama, our lord Hokage. Naruto was whisked away to train with Jiaraya the toad Sennin, and Sasuke-kun was trained by several members of the elite Anbu corps."
"You're all so amazing…"
"Well Naruto thinks you're amazing too. He only makes complements when he means it, and from what I heard him say, I'd think you could probably stand toe to toe with Neji, and I can barely do that."
"H-he m-meant i-it? R-really?" Said Hinata, her face turning beet red and the temperature of the water around her heating up to the point of near boiling.
"Why do you get so weird when…" Sakura began, only to stop herself in mid sentence, a mischievous smile creeping upon her face. "Oh ho ho, could it be that the beautiful daughter of the leader of the Hyuuga clan…" Sakura said menacingly as she swam over to the lavender eyed girl.
"W-what d-do y-y-you m-mean?" Hyuuga Hinata urgently stuttered, attempting to back as far back into the wall of the pool as possible.
"L-L-Loves Uzumaki Naruto?" She said mockingly as she sat next to the Hyuuga girl.
"…" Was Hinata's only response
"Tee hee hee, Naruto has an admirer!"
"Please…."
Meanwhile, in the bath reserved for men, the boys were all basking in the heat of a hot spring that was an exact mirror of the woman's bath. Unlike the women's bath however, Sasuke had brought his weapons in, for he felt a bit too exposed without them. All were simply soaking in their own little corner, save for Lee who was practically drowning under the waterfall.
"Lee-san, why are you underneath the fountain?" Neji asked as one of his white eyes took a peek at where Lee was drowning
"Yes Lee-san, tell us your good reason for polluting the water." Added Sasuke
"I am testing myself against the hardness of hot water, as Gai-sensei did!" Lee exclaimed, only to have hot water pouring into his throat and lungs, resulting in him violently coughing.
"I thought Sakura told you to stop being mean to Lee, Sasuke. Or is it that Sasuke the great is a whipped dog that's jealous of the beautiful azure beast of the forest?"
"Shut up."
"Thought so."
The silence continued, until it was broken by Sasuke.
"So, can we really trust her?"
"What the hell do you mean ass?"
"How sure are you that she isn't a spy working for Hiashi, or Orochimaru?"
"How are we sure you're not working for Orochimaru?"
"Don't bring that up."
"I doubt she's a spy. A priestess and warrior Hinata is, a liar she is not. It's one of the other reasons why Hiashi did not wish for her to become the clan leader, she's a horrible liar, and it would make it difficult for her to become a player on the inter-clan scale." Neji broke in
"Yeah Sasuke, she's too kind and gentle to be an asshole spy!" Naruto added
"Don't get so angry, I just want to make sure." Retorted Sasuke, followed by a short pause before beginning to speak once more, "Or is it that you have a special connection with the girl?"
"Connection? Make some sense baka!"
"Do you like her, baka?"
"Of course I like her! Who couldn't like her!"
"I mean more than that, are you enamored with her, do you love her?"
"Do you have a relationship with my cousin, Naruto-san?" Added Neji
"Yosh! For once my instincts were right! Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan are lovers, and eloped!" Lee chirped in, only to begin drowning in the water once more.
"No! No! No! It's nothing like that, Hinata-san was simply a kind person that wanted help, and I felt obligated to help her!" Naruto attempted to defend himself
"As long as it doesn't interfere with your capacity to fight, I don't care." Sasuke simply shrugged.
"Screw off Sasuke, unless you want me to tell Sakura that you've been cruel to Lee-san, and make sure you won't be screaming in ecstasy with her any time soon."
"You wouldn't dare." Said Sasuke, reaching for his Katana
"Oh, I would!" Said Naruto, biting his thumb, wiping the blood across his palm and forming several hand seals, then placing his hand on the stone floor next to the bath, summoning a kit, a baby fox.
"Hewo Nawuto-sempai! Do you have any tweats for me?" The adorable little fox asked
"Go to Sakura and tell her this…" and then Naruto began whispering into the little kit's ears. "…And ask them for your treat, and don't forget to say please."
"Tweats Pwease!" and the little kitsune diappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Damn you, Naruto, damn you and your foxes."
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Authors Note: I really need to find a regular rhythm to writing, feels a bit too unpredictable as to when I update, hmm? Well I've been addicted to playing RO, on EShadowRO, a private server since I'm too poor to play on the pay to play servers. My main char's name is Hyuuga Akimoto, since hey, Hyuuga's are the coolest! I'll help you out if you come play. Well, I'm off dreaming up the next chapter!
