Author's Note: Finally we get some quality girl time! Perhaps after this fic I'll write drabbles about the Konoha girls hanging out and NOT talking about boys.
As always, leave feedback!
Chapter 11
Karin was feeling rather down after confronting Sasuke, so as soon as she transformed back into herself, she went to go find Hinata to ask her if she wanted to hang out. Maybe they could go get some okonomiyaki (and hopefully Hinata would pay because she was rich). However, when she finally tracked down Hinata, the violet-haired kunoichi was not alone; she was with a small group of girls. One of the girls, much to Karin's chagrin, happened to be Sakura. This could potentially turn really awkward.
Still, Karin needed to have some fun and perhaps she would make new friends.
"Hey, Hinata, what's up?" Karin called.
"Oh, hello Karin! We were just going to relax at the bath house, want to join us?" Hinata replied.
"I don't want to intrude or anything…" Karin said.
Much to Karin's surprise, it was Sakura who answered, "You wouldn't be intruding at all! Please join us!"
"O-okay," Karin said, trying to hide the guilt that she felt.
"How do you know Hinata?" asked a brown-haired girl whose hair was tied up in buns.
"Oh, we just kind of met while training one day," Karin said.
"That's weird. I haven't seen you around before. Are you from Konoha?" asked a blonde-haired girl with a high ponytail.
"Uhhhh…no," Karin answered.
"Wait. I've seen your face before. Weren't you recently detained for working with Sasuke-kun?" asked a blonde-haired girl with messy hair and thick bottle glasses.
"Uhhhhhh…" Karin hesitated.
"Come to think of it, I saw that too! Hinata, this girl is a criminal!" said the brown-haired girl angrily.
"No, she's not…" Hinata responded meekly.
"Listen, I know some of you don't have the best opinion of Sasuke-kun but it is unfair to judge Karin just because she is his teammate. I was...no…am…his teammate too," Sakura pointed out, "and besides, she helped revive Tsunade-sama."
"Yeah, Tenten, you need to chill about Sasuke-kun. He did help us out in the war and all. He's on our side now," said the blonde-haired girl.
"We'll see about that. But I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions, Karin. Anyone who saves Tsunade-sama's life is a friend of mine. I hope you can accept my apology. It's Tenten, by the way." Tenten scratched the back of her head sheepishly.
"It's okay, Tenten," said Karin, pleasantly surprised that the girls had brushed off her bad reputation with only minor conflict.
"I'm Ino Yamanaka," said the blonde-haired girl. "It seems like you already know Hinata and billboard brow here…" Ino gestured to Sakura.
"I'm sorry, Karin, this girl is lying; her real name is Miss Piggy," Sakura interrupted.
"She calls me a pig but really she's just jealous because she'll never be as voluptuous as I am," Ino retorted.
The pink bitch got all up in Ino's face.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY, SKANK?" she yelled.
"THE COLD, HARD TRUTH, BITCH!" Ino yelled back.
"Ahem," the other blonde haired girl coughed.
Ino and Sakura turned around, embarrassed.
"S-sorry, Shiho! We got a bit carried away," Sakura laughed nervously.
"Y-yeah. I'm, uh, Shiho," said the other blonde-haired girl awkwardly.
"Sakura and I are actually best friends, even if we don't act like it. Sorry about that," Ino explained.
"No problem," Karin responded with a slight laugh.
The girls bantered for the rest of the walk to the bathhouse. They talked about how Hinata's former sensei, Kurenai, was due to have a baby any day now. Ino explained to Karin that the baby's father, Asuma, had been her sensei, but he had died in battle against the Akatsuki (Karin was thankful that no one knew that she had actually been a member of Akatsuki once).
They arrived at the bathhouse and headed to the changing room. Karin realized that this was the first time she had been naked around people she actually knew (Suigetsu didn't count). It was weird. She didn't consider herself a modest person by any means, but she found herself feeling very self-conscious about her bite marks, broad shoulders, and tiny breasts (all three of which she covered up with her long red hair) around other women. Especially Hinata. Damn, was that girl built. Her tits were so big that they practically floated on top of the water like pearly white balloons.
"Damn you, Hinata, your tits are glorious," Karin randomly blurted out when they got into the hot bath. Hinata squeaked and hugged her chest.
"Uh, really?"
"Hell yeah. I kind of have a girl crush on you; don't tell Naruto."
This put a small smile on Hinata's face.
"Hinata, you seriously need to take a good look at yourself. Most girls would kill for those boobs and that silky hair and those hips," Ino pouted, "myself included."
"Oh, Ino, stop feeling sorry for yourself. You flaunt your body all the time," Sakura reminded her in annoyance.
Just then, Tenten crept into the hot bath.
"I just had an awkward run-in with Lee out in the hallway," she whispered, her cheeks red. "The guys are all here."
"Jeez! Why do they always have to come at the same time as us? Can't we girls just have some bonding time away from the constant sausage fest?" Ino complained.
Sausage Fest. Karin's mind immediately wandered to the gutter. In a minute, hot, naked guys would be in the other room and their packages would be jiggling about. Karin thought of Suigetsu's dick and blushed. What am I kidding? His dick is pathetic…but it was huge when he was inside me, she thought before quickly brushing the thought away in disgust.
Sure enough, a loud voice resounded over the other side of the bathhouse.
"GUYS. DON'T PEEK AT THE GIRLS OR I'LL BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOU!" Naruto yelled obnoxiously.
"Naruto, the only one who ever tries to peek at the girls is you…" a calm voice pointed out.
"IT'S ONLY CUZ' HINATA'S PROBABLY OVER THERE! HE COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT PEOPLE PERVIN' ON THE REST OF THEM!" yelled another loud, obnoxious voice.
"That is completely false, Kiba! I, Naruto Uzumaki, am now a mature man and do not need to preoccupy myself with the habits of juveniles. It is not only for Hinata's honor, but for the honor of all women in the world, that I do this."
"AGREED, NARUTO-KUN! YOU ARE TRULY A PARAGON OF VIRTUE! TEACH ME YOUR MANLY WAYS SO THAT I MAY FEEL THE YOUTHFUL TORRENT OF LOVE WITH SAKURA-SAN!"
The pink bitch has ANOTHER admirer? Karin thought in disbelief. She looked at Sakura, who face palmed and sunk under the water, looking like she wanted to die. Karin looked over at Hinata next to her, and saw that her face was burning red.
Finally, Ino yelled over to the other side, "TRY TELLING LOUDER! IT'S NOT LIKE WE CAN HEAR EVERY SINGLE FREAKIN' WORD YOU'RE SAYING!"
"Sorry Ino!" yelled a different voice from the other side. The boy's side immediately fell to a hush.
"And THIS is why next time we have a girl's day, we don't go to the bath house," Ino muttered.
"Aw, but I love taking hot baths," Tenten sighed.
Karin was amused. She had thought that dealing with Suigetsu and Juugo was crazy but these guys were giving them good competition. She was actually glad for once that she was an outsider.
"So are those your teammates over there?" Karin asked the group.
"Yeah, for better or for worse," Tenten answered.
"Let's see…so I know there's Naruto. Then there are your teammates, Hinata, the dog guy and the bug guy…" Karin thought aloud.
"Kiba and Shino," Hinata corrected her.
"Yeah…and then I remember meeting the really hyper one with the weird haircut and the big eyebrows."
"That's Lee all right. He's my teammate," said Tenten.
"Okay, so Lee. And then there was a pale, dark-haired guy who had really weird fashion sense?"
"You're probably referring to Sai," Sakura said.
"Sai…anyone else who I'm missing?" Karin asked.
"Shikamaru," Shiho piped up, but then backed into the water, embarrassed. She was still wearing her glasses in the hot bath. Not even Karin was that blind.
"Yeah, Shikamaru and Choji. They're my teammates," Ino added, "and if you don't count Sasuke-kun, or Neji-kun, that's everyone!"
"Neji-nii-san," Hinata murmured sadly. Tenten swam over to pat Hinata on the shoulder and said, "It's okay, I miss him too."
"Ino! Too soon!" Sakura reprimanded the blonde.
"Sorry! It's true though; he isn't with us anymore. Besides, I know how hard it is, after all, my father also…" Ino's voice trailed off.
Karin was confused. Sakura could see that, so she explained, "Neji-kun was Hinata's cousin and Tenten's teammate. He died in the war. So did Ino's father."
Karin was surprised Hinata had not told her about her cousin dying in the war. But she supposed that was something that people just didn't talk openly about. Karin hadn't told anyone, not even Taka, about what had happened to her family and friends.
"Neji-kun was an excellent ninja and was always looking out for you, Hinata," Sakura said sweetly.
"Yeah. He was smart, talented, and hot…why do the good ones die young?" Ino lamented.
"Ino, can't you have a bit of sympathy like a normal person?" Sakura snapped at Ino.
"Nejiwas the closest thing to a normal person…" Tenten sighed with a hint of snark in her voice.
"I only said nice things! Right, Hinata?" Ino asked.
"Ummmm…yeah…I guess so," Hinata said timidly. Karin could tell she was feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"Sorry about your cousin," Karin told Hinata. Then to lighten the mood, she changed the subject, "So it sounds like, based on what Ino is saying, that the pickings for hot guys are slim?"
The girls all looked at each other.
"Ehhh…it depends on who you ask," said Tenten. "Like I wouldn't say Naruto is hot but I'm sure Hinata would say differently." Hinata blushed and grinned at this comment.
"The problem is," Ino explained, "that you never get a perfect combo. If a guy is hot, it's highly likely that he's a jerk, like Sasuke-kun…" Ino glanced at Sakura, who sunk into the water and started blowing bubbles. Ino continued, "If a guy is nice, then he's not hot, like Choji. And then all the guys who are in the middle have some sort of obnoxious personality flaw that's a deal breaker. So really, you can't win…"
"Unless you're Hinata and have the patience of an oyster," said Sakura. "Trust me, you need it to deal with that Naruto."
"I'm very lucky to have Naruto-kun, but I feel that the rest of you aren't giving the others enough credit," Hinata said.
"Shikamaru-kun isn't obnoxious. He's really smart and funny and nice," Shiho said shyly. A blush crept across the blonde girl's cheeks.
"That's true, but he's also realllly lazy," said Sakura.
"And taken," Ino added.
The other blonde's mouth opened in shock. Twitching, she readjusted her glasses and stammered, "W-what?"
"Is it Temari-san?" Sakura asked.
"Welllll, it's not official BUT…Choji told me that he got kicked out of the tent he was sharing with Shikamaru and had to spend the night with his Dad during the war because, let's just say, Shikamaru and a certain sand kunoichi were fraternizing," Ino said devilishly. The rest of the girls blushed, except for Shiho, who looked dumbfounded.
"I've got to go to the bathroom," she said quietly as she emerged from the hot bath. The room was absolutely silent until Shiho left.
"She must've really liked that Shikamaru guy," Karin observed, "and you just ruined all her hopes and dreams."
"Well, they were going to get ruined sooner or later," Ino said nonchalantly. "Really, I'm doing her a favor. Better to have her find out from me than be rejected. Shikamaru is a smug, sexist, lazyass shit and he needs a scary bitch like Temari to keep his ass in line. He'd be bored with Shiho."
"That may be true, Ino, but I still feel really bad for her," Hinata said. "I know what it's like to have a hopeless crush on someone."
"No, you don't," Karin said sharply, and immediately regretted it. Hinata looked shocked and Sakura looked upset. Karin realized she probably just came off as being very rude to Hinata.
"I'm sorry Hinata, what I meant to say is that…WHAT DO YOU MEAN? Don't be so hard on yourself—you ended up with your man so it wasn't hopeless at all!" Karin laughed, and much to her relief, the tension seemed to clear. Sakura still seemed to be a bit off, though.
The girls proceeded to gossip about the Shikamaru-Temari couple, which bored Karin. She imagined Sasuke being there instead; good ole' quiet Sasuke with his rock hard abs. Karin suppressed a drool. Just then, she heard shouting coming over from the other side of the bathhouse. The boys seemed to be fighting over space in the hot bath. She contemplated a wonderful, awful idea.
I wonder how their guys compare to Sasuke? Perhaps a few of them are really hot…having a tiny little peek won't hurt, she thought.
Karin swam over to the fence in between the men's and women's baths and started looking for a hole. She knew from experience from trying to peek at Sasuke that there was usually a weak spot in these dividers. Some pervert usually made a hole to peek into the women's side, anyways.
"Ummmm…Karin…what are you doing?" Sakura asked suspiciously.
Karin whipped around and stammered, "I-I thought I saw a hole in the wall and I was worried that the guys were trying to peek at us!"
"Oh God, I hope not," muttered Tenten.
"Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it, Karin," said Ino. "They know who they're messing with here."
"I don't know. Naruto and Lee-san did some questionable things in the past…those guys can be real perverts sometimes," Sakura said.
"Well, then maybe we should give them a taste of their own medicine?" Karin laughed nervously. She appeared to be joking, but in reality she was dying to peek.
"Karin-san! You're a naughty girl…and I love it! How come I never thought of that before?" Ino exclaimed.
"Woah, Ino!" Tenten exclaimed. "You would really perv on them?"
"Sure. There are definitely some guys that I am curious about," Ino answered.
"Like who?" Sakura asked her friend, brows raised.
"Like hell I'd tell you!" Ino snapped.
"One of them is definitely Sai, that's for sure," Sakura muttered. "Ino, even if he is hot I'm not quite sure that things without a penis are his type…"
"Oh, how do you know?" Ino scowled. "You got a dick?"
"No! Do you, Ino-Pig?!"
"Calm down you two! They'll hear us!" Hinata said nervously.
"Point taken…if we're going to do this, we'll have to be sneaky – and you've given me the perfect idea, Hinata. You have the byakugan. Have you just happened to notice what these guys have hiding underneath their pants? Cuz' if not, then now's the perfect time to find out," Ino asked the blushing Hyuuga.
"NO! W-well, I mean, I have seen some of them in passing but…I don't try to direct my attention there!" Hinata stammered.
"Not even Naruto-kun?" Ino jeered.
Hinata squealed. She turned crimson red and appeared to pass out. Luckily, Tenten was next to her and propped Hinata on the edge of the tub, fanning the shy girl's head.
"I guess I went too far," Ino muttered. Luckily, Hinata came to and Ino apologized to her.
"I-It's okay," Hinata stammered, "It's just…I try not to look at Naruto-kun's…you know… when I'm using the byakugan because I want the first time we see each other…well…to be special."
"Yeah, but how do you know that he hasn't looked at you?" asked Ino snidely.
"Gah! Maybe he has! What if…what if he only wants me for my boobs?" Hinata asked nervously.
"Don't you worry, Naruto isn't that kind of a guy," said Sakura, and in a low voice, added, "cuz' he certainly didn't hit on me because of my tits, that's for sure."
"So maybe…he doesn't like large breasts?" Hinata said, growing more anxious and covering up her chest.
"HINATA JUST CALM YOUR HUGE TITS!" Karin yelled in frustration. Then upon realizing what she said, everyone started to laugh, even Hinata.
"That was a good one! I like you," said Tenten, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Y-yeah. I'm sorry for stressing out, everyone," Hinata apologized.
"No worries," Sakura reassured her, "besides, Naruto is crazy about you and you really need to stop doubting that. His face just lights up whenever he's around you." Hinata blushed.
"Well, then I could always use my mind-body switch," Ino mused.
"Oh, just drop it, Ino. That's just too perverted, even for you," Sakura snapped at her.
"Fine, forehead. I was just joking anyways. But don't tell me that if Sasuke-kun were over there that you wouldn't want to sneak a peek," Ino retorted.
"SHUT UPPPPPPPPPP!" Sakura splashed her friend.
"Don't splash me with that hot water, you psycho!" Ino squealed.
"I thought you said you were over him?" Tenten asked suspiciously.
"I am!" Sakura muttered, blushing.
"Then how come you're blushing?" Ino jeered.
"Because the water is hot, idiot," Sakura muttered again. "Besides, aren't you his girlfriend, Karin?"
Karin's stomach lurched as all the girls whipped around and stared at her in disbelief.
"I…uhhh…well, that's," Karin hesitated, "uh…yeah, I guess you could say that." Shit. What the FUCK did I just say?!
"I didn't know that, Karin," said Hinata.
"Yeah, we keep it on the down low. You know. Busy with the Shinobi life," Karin laughed nervously.
"Whoa, I guess he was straight after all," Tenten remarked.
"What made you think he wasn't?" Ino asked, her eyes narrowing.
"He never showed any interest in girls and then he volunteered to go off with Orochimaru and do who the hell knows what. Just sayin'," said Tenten. Karin cringed.
"Oh hell no!" Karin retorted. "Orochimaru-sama was creepy but Sasuke would never…EW!"
"Yeah, I don't want to think about it, either," said Ino. "Soooooooooo…just out of friendly curiosity, Karin…what is your relationship with him like?"
"What do you mean?" Karin asked nervously.
"Like…does he actually show any signs of affection? Cuz' I tried to flirt with him and he wouldn't even look at me …" Ino pouted.
"I wonder why," Sakura muttered sarcastically.
"Uhhhhhhh…sure. We do…things," Karin said unconvincingly. She felt herself sweating even more than she was previously.
"And is his body as beautiful as his face is?" Ino asked with an eager grin.
"INO!" Sakura reprimanded her. "Don't you think it's awfully rude to be asking Karin such personal questions about her relationship? Why don't we talk about something else-"
"Oh, you're just jealous, billboard brow. Although if I were Karin, I certainly wouldn't want to give away the juicy details so no one tried to steal my man…" Ino replied.
"No matter how hot Sasuke is, I will never steal him away from you," Tenten muttered.
"Well, I will say this much: he's absolutely gorgeous," Karin admitted. "His chest looks as if it's been sculpted by the Gods…and his muscular arms…and that ass. Unf."
Sakura and Ino blushed. Tenten shrugged and Hinata didn't appear to even be listening to the conversation.
"Annnnnnnnd?" Ino coaxed.
"And what?" asked Karin, her cheeks burning.
"Have you…well…is he truly gifted everywhere?" Ino was desperate to wheedle the juicy details out of Karin. Unfortunately, Karin did not know. She had peaked at Sasuke countless times when he was bathing but she had never been able to see his full body in all of its glory. The best she had seen was a one second glimpse of his ass. And oh, what a lovely ass it was. Karin turned as bright as a tomato.
"Annnnnnnd we're done!" Sakura laughed nervously as she started pushing Ino out of the bath. "Let's go get changed now, shall we?"
"Ouch! You're no fun," Ino groaned as she climbed out of the bath.
"I am soooo sorry. We're not all crazy people, I swear," Tenten muttered apologetically to Karin as she got out of the bath.
"Oh, uh, no problem," Karin replied.
Then it was just Hinata and Karin.
"Karin, I don't want you to get involved in the drama but I just thought you should know that Sakura-chan…well, she used to really love Sasuke-kun. I am still uncertain if she is truly over him," said Hinata.
"I know," Karin replied. "I don't think she is."
"So why would you lie about being his girlfriend?" Hinata asked.
"How did you know I was lying?" Karin replied incredulously.
"Women's intuition," Hinata responded, with a smile.
"Yeah…I just…I got nervous and I didn't know what to say," said Karin.
"Do you like Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked curiously.
"Ehhhh…it's complicated," Karin sighed.
"Well, you don't have to go into it if you don't want to. I'm going to get out now," Hinata told her, leaving Karin to ruminate over her feelings for Sasuke some more. The fact that I can't say 'Yes, I like him' automatically…my feelings are not as strong as they used to be, she thought.
She eventually rejoined the other girls in the changing room. It appeared that Shiho had left immediately after she had gotten upset about Shikamaru. As the girls were saying their goodbyes, Karin pulled Sakura aside.
"Look, Sakura, about Sasuke—" Karin said sheepishly.
"There's no need to feel bad! Like I said, I'm over Sasuke-kun now so you don't need to worry about it," Sakura said with a smile on her face. Karin could tell it was fake.
"But—" Karin started.
"It's no big deal! I'll see you around, Karin! Perhaps you can come help heal people at the hospital?" Sakura asked.
"S-sure," Karin said as Sakura walked off. Yet again, she had chickened out when it came to telling her the truth.
But despite how awkward it was, this day with the girls was the most fun she had had, if not in a very long time, than ever.
