Ch 14

The trek across the desert to the canyon was rather uneventful, with the exception of the very start. Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura had all summoned a fox to ride on, and when Jiraiya asked which one he was riding on they responded with, "Whatever one you summon." This had led to a slightly irate Jiraiya chasing after the laughing trio on top of a very pissed off toad. Now, the toad wasn't pissed at the three younger people, but rather at Jiraiya for summoning him, an amphibian who likes high-moisture environments, into the middle of a god damn desert. The toad almost left when Jiraiya explained the situation, and it wasn't until the old perv agreed to give the toad a huge amount of sake, (in the neighborhood of a few barrels) that the toad agreed.

It took them a few days to get to the canyon that would allow them into the Stripping Sands. There was a decent sized mountain range that cut through Wind Country, and the only way to get to the other side without climbing over a mountain was to go through this canyon. Going through the canyon wasn't terribly difficult, and they managed to traverse its distance in about a day. It's what's at the other end of the canyon that poses the most problem. Stretching for almost a thousand kilometers from the canyon end was a giant, never-ending sandstorm.

This wasn't any ordinary sandstorm either. Besides it being never-ending, it was so thick, that a normal person could see maybe ten feet through the swirling sands, and those with eye powers, even the Hyuuga, could see at most a hundred feet through the sand, getting a fuzzy blur at best.

While it was possible to cross through the eternal storm, few had ever done it. It just wasn't practical. That's not to saw only a few attempted it though. The swirling sands held innumerable skeletons in its vast depths; remains of those who had tried to cross without being properly prepared.

Our band of travelers were not to be considered a part of that group, though. They had dispelled their summons, and wrapped themselves in enough clothes to make Shino look almost naked in comparison. There was not a single skin cell exposed to the elements, and were it not for the goggles they wore over their eyes, they wouldn't even look human.

The only person known to ever be able to walk un-hindered through this inhospitable bit of desert unhindered was the current Kazekage. About a year and a half ago he and his siblings had trekked across the barren waste in search of some artifact for the council, although they never found it. The trip was not a complete waste, though, as two very important facts were discovered about the Stripping Sands.

One was that Shukaku wouldn't try to take over Garra's mind while he was there, even if he was sleeping. The other was that the sandstorm wasn't continuous. There were calm pockets throughout its area, and to one of them is where our group was headed.

They almost walked right past it. They were walking along a sand ridge when Naruto suddenly lost his balance and fell over. He rolled down the side of the dune a few feet, stopping just within sight of the rest of them. Much to their horror, he took his mask off and appeared to be…….laughing? That didn't seem right.

When the rest of the group got over to the laughing blond, they realized the reason for his joy, as he was no longer standing in the sand storm. He was, in fact, standing in the very clearing they were aiming for, and it was only his natural clumsiness that had found it. They had picked this particular area not for its closeness, for they had passed several others already, but for the fact that it was the only one charted with a permanent water source. At the bottom of the dunes surrounding the little safe-haven, was actual rocky ground, not sand like the rest of the desert. In the middle of this rocky ground was a small pond, fed by an underground spring. There was no life in or around the pond, and it was crystal clear, allowing one to see all the way to the bottom as if it was only a few inches deep, when it was closer to six feet.

Seeing this, Naruto immediately sprinted down the dune, stripping off his protective cloak in the process. When he got to the bottom, still wearing his usual outfit, he dove right in to the pool, before immediately crawling back out. The other three followed him down, albeit at a much slower rate, and tried to find out why he shot out of the water almost as fast as he had shot into it.

"What's wrong with the water?" Sakura asked, as she took off her sand protection clothes, followed by her boots. "Too hot?"

"Hell no," he replied, "that water is effin cold!"

"It's not cold, you idiot," Sakura replied as she waded in, going in far enough so the water was hitting her knees, "this feels damn good! Come on in, Hinata, and cool yourself off."

Hinata also took off her sand gear, and her sandals, and after rolling her pant legs up, waded out to join Sakura, sighing in relief at the touch of the cool water.

"Well, go out farther then. The middle is like a freaking ice cube!" Naruto responded, as he took off his sandals, before wading back in. Sakura walked out farther, until the water was about to get her black shorts wet.

"It still isn't that cold. I think I should examine your head after we get cooled off. I don't think your brain is working right."

Never one to let the opportunity to pull off a massive prank pass him by, Naruto began to form a plan to get the girls to believe him.

"Ne, Hinata, do you believe me?" he asked the girl.

"Ano, not really, it is cool, but not as cold as you describe it," she replied.

"What about over by Sakura-chan then? Does it feel any different over there?" he asked next.

As Hinata waded over by Sakura, he got in position, silently moving in behind them.

"It feels the same here, Naruto-kun. There is no significant change in the water temperature."

Suddenly realizing a snag in his plan, he asked, "You both know how to swim, right?"

They both nodded, not paying him much concentration, as they had both become pre-occupied with the cooling effects of the spring water. As he stepped closer, Sakura suddenly realized that Naruto was up to something, as all the time she had spent with him had taught her that he never asked a question like that out of the blue, and as she added in the fact of where they were standing, she instantly figured out what he was about to do, right as his hand connected with her shoulder, and his other hand met Hinata's shoulder.

Pushing a bit of chakra into his arms, he shoved them both into the middle of the pond, near where he had landed when he jumped. The force of the shove, combined with their surprise, and the resistance on their legs, both girls fell into the water completely, making Naruto grin and Jiraiya roll on the ground at the shore with his hands around his gut, trying not to laugh himself to death.

Hinata broke the surface of the water first, gasping for air. She turned to face Naruto with a half-hearted glare, sine even though it had felt really good, the water was as cold as he said it was, and he had shoved her into it. She glared at him for a second longer before she slipped back under the icy cold water, and then Sakura came up, gasping for air much like Hinata had been.

"NARUTO!!!!! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!! THAT WATER IS FUCKIN COLD!!!!!!"

"See, I told ya it was cold. You just didn't believe me," he said as he walked over to her, "Besides, once you get over the shock of the cold, it actually feels really good."

She opened her mouth to argue further, but realized he was right. The icy cold water did feel really good, although she couldn't figure out for the life of her how there could be such cold water in the middle of the desert.

Naruto then took his jacket off, and flung it over to the shore, before diving under the surface. Noticing that Sakura was still just standing there, he swam up behind her, and popped out. Before she could turn around, he had wrapped both arms around her waist, and he immediately fell backwards, taking her with him.

They played in the water for almost an hour, and even managed to get Hinata to take her jacket off, although it took Naruto knocking Jiraiya out for her to do it, and even then she was reluctant. Once she took it off, it was immediately apparent why, and upon a slight amount of covert inspection, Naruto noticed that Sakura was having a similar reaction to the cold water that Hinata was. His suspicions were confirmed when he pretended to trip and fall right in front of Sakura, dragging his flailing arm across her chest in the process. She didn't pay any attention to it, while Naruto was trying to fight off some rather dirty thoughts while he was under water.

'I can't believe how hard they are! I'm almost surprised I didn't get cut. And that's through a bra and shirt! Imagine direct contact; I probably would have a huge gash down my arm!'

Once they realized that their limbs were going numb from the cold water, they got out and spread themselves on the bank to try and dry out a little before setting up their tents.

After a short while, Naruto stripped his shirt off, and began to set up the tents. This soon led to a rather uncomfortable realization. They had originally brought a four man tent, a three man tent, and a one man tent, and at some point in the journey the four man tent had been damaged, which left it unusable as it had a huge tear in the side fabric. The uncomfortable part came when Naruto was trying to figure out the sleeping arrangements. He knew that neither girl would share the big tent with Ero-sennin unless they absolutely had to, and he didn't blame them. He couldn't stand to stay in the same tent as the legendary pervert either, having spent many nights under the stars as a result. He wasn't particularly looking forward to doing it here, but he figured that the girls wouldn't want him in the tent with them either, so after he got the other tent set up, he began looking for a spot for himself, which caught the attention of the girls, Jiraiya having been knocked out by Sakura when she caught him ogling her and Hinata.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"Trying to find me a spot to sleep," he replied, "the big tent got ripped at some point on the way here, so I put Ero-sennin in the little one, and you two in the other one, since I know you won't share with him."

"Damn right we wouldn't share a tent with him, he'd probably try and feel us up in the middle of the night or something," Sakura said while laughing, "but it gets really cold out here at night, and as long as you behave, I don't see why you can't share the tent with us. It was designed for three people, after all."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want you two to feel awkward about being in the same tent as me."

Sakura just scoffed, "It's not like we haven't shared a tent before. As long as you promise not to peek at us while we change clothes, I don't think we'll have to kick you out."

Despite his blush at the fact that he would peek on them while they changed, Naruto had the perfect comeback, "As long as you can convince Hinata not to peek at me with her byakugan while I'm sleeping, I think I can manage."

Naruto's comment had Hinata turning a rather dark red, and Sakura rolling around laughing at her reaction. Naruto and Sakura teased each other for a little while, before they ate some food, and dragged a still unconscious Jiraiya into the little tent. Once the three of them got to their tent, they decided to place Naruto against one side, Hinata on the other, and Sakura in the middle. They hung a blanket inside the tent to divide the genders while they changed, and once it was taken down they all fell asleep rather quickly.