Chapter 14: Catfights and Cameras

(Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry about missing the chapter updates for the past two weekends. I am so sorry, life, work and stuff got busy. I ran out of time to finish the chapter last weekend so I figured that I'd take this week and extend the chapter for you guys to make up for it. I will try my best to get my butt in gear again and get another chapter out this weekend. But because this chapter was so long and my already short time frame to write the next chapter I just wanted to let you guys know that the next one will most likely be on the shorter end of my recent chapters. Don't worry, I won't upload it if it's under 4,000 words. I haven't finished this chapter yet so I don't know how long it'll be but it is without a doubt longer than any of my previous chapters for this story by far at 11,000 words. I figured that I'd write this now that I'm thinking about it.

Also, I have been thinking that in order to write longer chapters and to make them as best as I can that I might change my schedule from one chapter each week to one every two. I don't really want to but I think that it might be the best. Please, let me know your thoughts on it with a Review, I'd love to know what you guys think I should do You guys are the ones who read my work anyways, I should do whatever you guys want to the best of my ability. Thanks, Hephaestus.

One more thing, I am moving the first week of next month so I will have less time during the day to write for the next few weeks, as I haven't even started packing yet if you can believe it or not. I really appreciate your forgiveness and I will try my best to not go this long without at least saying anything again.)

(Author's Note: This chapter contains a character from a non anime series, but it is NOT a crossover. I just really like the character and couldn't help but add him as a character in this chapter. It's really obvious since I say his name but if you know the character, let me know in a review. I'm curious as to how many people will notice. The last time I did a subtle reference to another anime character no one said anything about it so I assumed that no one noticed him.)

Without further delay here is your long awaited next chapter…

Chapter 14: Catfights and Cameras

(Naruto/Sakura POV)

"Let's go, this man here is correct, someone like this isn't worth our time. We are here to enjoy a nice vacation from the family, not to be getting into fights." Passing by the man Naruto continued his threat.

"If you even try to touch her again I'll make sure that I actually hit you like a man." The man scowled.

"What the hell does that mean?" He demanded.

"It means that if you try a stunt like that again then I'll be sure to knock to clean out, believe me man, you do not know who you're messing with."

Wrapping his arm around her in a comforting manner, the hero led the pinkette away from the man whom he had punched. Leading the way through the line to get checked by the security and walked up the ramp from the dock leading up to the ship.

Once they were far enough away from prying ears Naruto dropped his character and whispered in her ear. From the perspective of anyone who happened to be watching, it seemed that he was pulling her in to kiss her cheek or the like as from every direction but the front their faces were covered by either her hair or his head.

"Are you okay, Sakura-chan? Did that guy hurt you?" The hero asked, lightly placing his big hand over her face, giving her a concerned and worried look all the while.

"Y-yeah I'm okay, Naruto. T-thanks for worrying." The pinkette said softly. She turned her head to look directly at his. His eyes were focused on her so intensely that she turned a light shade of pink. She still wasn't used to him being this close and acting this way yet, even though he's always shown concern and worry for her in the past.

"It's not a problem, really. What am I supposed to do, not be worried after some bastard slaps you like that?" The blond asked sarcastically. The medic couldn't help but darken a shade of pink at his response, he was always so worried about her. The pinkette was starting to doubt that he liked someone else based on his actions of worrying for her but it was just in the back of her mind, as far away from all reason as it could possibly be. She lowered her voice even more and was hugging him before she could think.

"Thanks for doing that, Naruto. Thanks for punching him to protect me like that. You didn't have to."

Naruto subconsciously pulled her in to return the hug and gave her his trademark grin.

"Of course I did, Sakura-chan. Believe me, I'd do it again a thousand times over again for you. If he ever messes with you again let me know, I'll talk to him for you."

The pinkette turned yet another shade darker. She smiled and gave him another brief squeeze before letting him go.

"You'd really do that for me?" She asks.

"A thousand times over, Sakura-chan. Forever and ever, I'll be there to protect you. You should know that by now, really." He said, as if it was obvious, to the medic she knew that it was when she thought about it. For her entire life, even before they became best friend's, he had risked his life to protect her. She could list dozens of examples of him protecting her over the years. Sakura had to force back a happy tear, wishing that she could live in moments like this forever, with him, her best friend, someone who she couldn't hide her feelings for, to be able to be held and comforted by him, to be cared for by him for the rest of her life.

'If only… the dreams of a child.' She thought to herself. 'Life isn't a fairy tale, you don't always get to be with the one you want and live your happy ever after. I don't deserve him anyways,... he should be with someone who's loved him from day one. He promises to protect me and to take care of me for my entire life without ever expecting anything in return. I've never once been good to him, how can I really think that he loves me? I've broken his heart more times than anyone else, he can't love me.' The pinkette was shaken from her thoughts at the sound of a familiar soothing voice calling her.

"Sakura-chan, you okay?" The hero asked. He was studying her face carefully as they stood standing in the hall to the main lobby of the ship.

"Huh? What? Oh, yeah, I'm okay, no need it worry, Naruto. I was just lost in thought." The medic spoke, hoping above all that he didn't ask what she was thinking about, and of course, he did.

"What were you thinking about? You kinda spaced out there for a minute." The blond asked, his arm still around her back with his hand on her shoulder, however neither of the two noticed.

"Nothing really, it's... uh, actually, Naruto, that's not true. I uh, have a question for you Naruto. And I want you to answer me honestly, you promised me yesterday that you would be honest with me about how you feel, okay? Can you do that?" Her eyes were looking into his, she couldn't hold back her worry, her doubt, she didn't want to just ask it like this but she felt like that she needed to hear it from the source to confirm once and for all if he liked her or not. Having Sai or Ino tell her that he liked her wasn't proof enough, she needed to hear it from his lips.

Naruto gave a little worried look for a second, from her voice he could tell that she was about to ask something really big, as long as she didn't ask him that. He smiled to make sure that he didn't seem worried.

"Okay, I promise that I'll answer honestly. You know my ninja way, I'll never go back on my word, I will never lie to you."

'Okay, here goes, it's now or never. I'll ask him, I'll do it. Come on, just do it! Just ask him already! Stop stalling and do it!' The pinkette yelled to herself, trying to psyche herself up to do it. She lowered her gaze from his eyes, she wouldn't be able to stand it if he confirmed her worries as she looked into his eyes, that would crush her completely.

"What,... what do you think of me, Naruto? I mean, what am I to you?" The petite pinkette asked softly, barely even audible even though Naruto's face was just inches from hers.

'Of course she had to ask that, dammit! Why did she have to ask something like that? How am I supposed to answer a question like that? I promised that I wouldn't lie to her, but I can't answer honestly, can I? Of course not, she's my best friend, she doesn't think of me as anything more than that. She loves that damn Sasuke.' The blond hero was besides himself, what was he supposed to do? Lie, breaking his biggest promise to her of his life but protect their friendship? Or was he supposed to tell her the truth and drop a bomb and tear their friendship apart? The risk of the latter was too much, he couldn't risk losing her in his life, he lived to be with her.

"I uh, what makes you ask that so suddenly like that, Sakura-chan? Why are you so serious about it?" Asked the hero, trying to gauge how he should answer. If he knew why she was asking then he could think of the best way to answer.

She raised her gaze back to his face and gave a look that at first he couldn't place.

"Don't answer questions with questions, I asked you what I am to you. I want you to answer me honestly." Her tone wasn't mad, angry or upset, all three in which he was very used to. This time she sounded almost worried, worried how he was going to answer. And her worry only made him worry even more, if he messed up here then his entire world could be flipped upside down.

"Well isn't it obvious, Sakura-chan? You asked what I think of you? I think that you're amazing. You're really smart, kind, powerful and pretty. I've thought of you like that since the day I met you." He tried his best to hide a gulp, her face was blank, he couldn't tell what she was thinking. Hopefully he'd be able to convince her with this answer.

"You asked what you are to me?" He asked. The pinkette only tilted her head a degree up and down to answer.

"Well, you're my bestfriend, did you have to ask? We've spent most of our lives working together, side by side, so of course I think of you as my best friend. We hang out all the time when not on missions on our free time. You are the single closest friend I have ever had in my life, and that's the truth, Sakura-chan. More than Sasuke and more than Shikamaru, you are my closest friend. So when I say that I will always protect you I really mean it. I will always protect the entire village and everyone in it." He ended with a smile, he looked to her to see that her face was down. She opened her mouth to speak, her voice was so low that he had a very hard time hearing her even though he was so close.

"So you are saying that the reason why you worry and care about me so much is because we're best friends?" She asked.

"Well… yeah. Why? Is… is that a problem?" Asked the blond hero

"I uh, well I know that you had a crush on me when we were kids, the same kind of silly crush that I had on Sasuke-kun. I was just, wondering if you still-." The pinkette's quiet question was cut off by a bellhop who hadn't heard her speaking as he approached.

"Excuse me, sir, ma'am." The two looked to the tall and thin man who had walked up to them. They had completely forgotten that they were in a hallway just a few paces from a busy and noisy lobby. In that moment they had left all other thoughts behind them and were living in the moment. Now that moment was interrupted by a very energetic bellhop who was trying to get their attention.

"Please pardon the interruption sir, but all of the other guests have arrived and are waiting in the lobby where the ship's manager is waiting to make an announcement. So I ask if you would please come with me so that we don't keep him waiting." The tall man ended with a rehearsed smile. He spoke with respect that he for sure had to use with dealing with people of this class.

"Oh, my apologies!" Naruto said, changing back into his character. "I was not aware that we were holding everyone up. I was just trying to make sure that my girlfriend was alright. A man had the audacity to slap her before we came aboard, I was just making sure that she was okay." The blond hero hugged the pinkette when he called her his girlfriend, trying to make it seem as genuine as possible. It was a little hard saying it like that but he needed to be able to forget his embarrassment and play out his character. Plus, this was the only possible situation in which he could be this close and call her his girlfriend without her getting angry at him. Hopefully.

"No problem, sir, it is alright. Ma'am, do you need to see the ship's medic? I could take you two there if you like." The man gestured down the hallway with his hand. Naruto shook his head and looked to the pinkette.

"Thank you for the offer but there is no need. It is not serious enough for that. If you would, please direct us the the lobby." The blond spoke with an authoritative voice that the medic had only heard a few times in her life. Naruto only talked this way when he spoke with the other Kage or people of authority. While he normally didn't talk like that, people were sure to listen to him when he did.

"Very well then, please follow me." Said the bellhop.

oooOooo

"I would like welcome all of you aboard the Howaitosanzu Private Resort and Spa Cruise Liner. My name is Mr. Marion Moseby and I am the manager of this fine vessel." The blond and pinkette heard this as they entered the main lobby of the ship. Apparently they had started without them.

The hero of the Leaf eyed the man who was speaking, he was fairly short, dark skinned, had very short hair and was dressed in a dark grey jacket that was the mixture of a suit jacket and a captain's uniform, with decor on his shoulders and the wrists of his sleeves. On the right side of his tie he had a yellow anchor on his suit and on the left side he had a blue nametag which read 'Mr. Moseby'. The decor was a bright yellow that matched his buttons, dress shirt and yellow and blue striped tie. He also wore bright white shorts that stopped just above his knees and matching knee-length white socks and white dress shoes. On his face he wore a bright, white smile. He appeared to be the happiest person on earth to Naruto.

Needless to say that both the hero and pinkette were surprised to see someone like him. No one in their entire village looked like this man. While neither of them had spent any time on the seas on a ship like this they were sure that this man was dressed as one of a kind.

"I would also like to thank all of you for choosing our resort for your vacations. As you are all aware, our resort is one of the most luxurious in the world, and we take pride in that fact. With world class accommodations, dining, staff and a once in a lifetime experience designed for only the upper elite of this world. Here at Howaitosanzu, we strive to make your stay with us as enjoyable as possible, so please, feel free to let one of our staff know if you require anything. We are here to serve and to please." The short man paused to smile again as he motioned to several members of the staff standing at attention behind him.

"If no one has any questions then we will begin the process of checking you in while our amazing staff bring your bags to your rooms. If you would all please form into four lines then we can start to check you into your rooms." As soon as the words left his mouth the other guests in the room all tried to force their way to the front of the lines. Naruto was beginning to learn pretty quickly that these 'elites' behaved no better than children. He listened and watched as they complained and demanded that the process went faster.

"Next in line, please." The blond and pinkette moved up to the large wooden desk to check in. They hadn't pushed their way to the front and were cut in front of several times which resulted in them being near the end of the line. Naruto handed his and Sakura's tickets to the young woman behind the desk who was clearly wearing a fake smile.

"Here you go, miss." The blond said. The woman behind the desk took the tickets from his hand and read them.

"Oh, Mr. Ishihara, Ms. Fukushima, thank you so much for waiting. Your suite number is A113, it is on the first floor above deck. Here is your room key." She said, handing a small white card to the blond. He smiled and took the card from her hand.

"Thank you very much, miss." The hero said genuinely.

"It is not a problem, sir. If you don't have any questions then would you please follow this man here to your room? Your bags are already waiting there for you." The woman who still had a fake smile said as she gestured to another man in a server uniform standing to the side of the desk. He tipped his hat respectfully to them and spoke.

"It would be an honor to show you two to your room for the night." Naruto nodded in acknowledgement to the man and turned his gaze back to the woman.

"No, I believe that we don't have any questions, thank you for your help, miss." The blond smiled to the woman behind the desk and lead Sakura with his arm behind her back softly to the man waiting to take them to their room.

"Then if you two would follow me, I will show you to your room." Said the server.

oooOooo

"Here we are, suite A113."

"Thank you very much." Said the blond.

"Yes, thank you." Agreed the pinkette to the server. The man nodded to the two and opened their door and showed them inside.

Sakura followed the two men in the room and was immediately shocked upon seeing their room for the night. Their suite, which she was under the impression that it would be about the side of a regular hotel or inn room was massive. Nothing short of immaculate. Their room was first of all two floors in one, the first being the main room and lounge with a brown L-shaped couch with two matching comfortable looking lounge chairs with foot rests. A glass dining table was towards the back of the room in front of a large floor to ceiling window that covered half the wall that sported a long curtain that was open to reveal the ocean. On the side of the room under the loft which held the second floor was another lounge area with a couch, loveseat, several bookcases and shelves and even a full-sized grand piano as the centerpiece of the lounging area. Next to the dining area was the blue carpeted wooden stairs that matched the pillows on the couch, the throw rug under the couches and the dining chairs. The pinkette's eyes drifted to the second floor which housed the bedroom and bath, the bedroom was clearly visible behind a clear glass railing which separated the second and first floor. A large curtain was drawn back on both sides of the bedroom that could be closed for privacy.

"This room is amazing…" She couldn't help but say as she looked around. If this was their room for only one night on the ship then what would their room at the resort look like? This was already insane in her mind. Do people really spend their one night traveling to the resort in a room like this? The suite was larger than her whole apartment she lived in with her parents.

"Well of course, ma'am. Here at Howaitosanzu, we only offer the best for our guests. Every suite onboard is nothing less than first class. With every suite on this floor having the same layout." The man walked to the center of the room and gestured to the room as a whole around them.

"Allow me to go over all of the accommodations of this room. As you can see, this room is very large, being almost 1,600 square feet and two stories high, this room can comfortably accommodate up to six people at a time. The master bedroom is upstairs in the loft. It features a glass wall partition and of course blackout curtains for your privacy during the night. The adjoining bathroom features a tub, shower, dual sinks and a bidet. A second bath with a shower is found on the main level as well." The two Leaf ninja stood in the middle of the room with their jaws on the floor, they had never seen a room like this before. Neither of them could believe that they were going to be staying the night in a room like this.

The man gestured upstairs to the bedroom and started to speak again, completely missing the two ninjas reaction.

"You will find that your luggage is up in the loft in the walk-in closet waiting for you. Also, sir, every guest aboard has been invited to a dinner tonight in the grand ballroom, followed by a ball. We would be honored to see you there, are you going to be going, sir?" Questioned the man. The pinkette couldn't help but notice that the man only ever acknowledged her when she spoke, but never directed any information or questions to her. Only to Naruto? Was it because he was a man and she a woman? The pink haired medic knew that gender equality was best in the ninja villages and that women were traditionally treated as less than their male counterparts by the outside world. She could only assume that this was even more prevalent in rich, elite, high class society.

The blond looked to the pinkette and back to the man before she could say a word.

"Of course, we would love to dine with the captain and the rest of the guests tonight." Naruto said, playing his role well.

"Very well, sir. If there is nothing else that I can help you with then I am going to excuse myself and give you and your lady some privacy and time to unpack." The pink haired girl watched the hero think for a second before telling the man that they were fine.

"Very well, sir. Good day." The man bowed low to Naruto, turned to Sakura and bowed as well, but not as low this time and left the room in silence.

"I don't like how that guy was acting. For the most part he acted like I wasn't even here." The pinkette said as soon as the man left the room. The blond hero gave her a look.

"Really? I didn't really notice." Said the blond.

"That's because you're a guy, you wouldn't." Replied the pinkette.

"I guess that's true, but don't worry about it, okay? Let's try and have some fun at least while we're here." Naruto began to move towards the stairway and continued.

"We talked about meeting up at the pool after we unpacked, right?" He asked Sakura.

"Yeah, we decided that before we went to the inn yesterday. Why?"

"If that's the case then why don't we act like normal vacationers and go to the pool after we unpack? That was the plan after all." Said the hero.

"You just want to go to the pool, don't you?" Questioned the pinkette. She saw the blond rub the back of his head and smiled like a kid who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Obviously she was correct.

"You're right, but can you blame me? It's like a hundred degrees outside and did you see that pool? The water slide was taller than a house. Hell, a house could fit in the pool."

"Fine, we'll go to the pool after we unpack our clothes for the day and change into our swimsuits." Said the pinkette which received a smile from the blond hero, he couldn't wait to go to the pool and relax.

The two Leaf nin went upstairs to the loft and grabbed their suitcases and started to unpack a few clothes for the day and the night. They participated in normal small talk, mostly about their room for the night. Neither of the two remembered that Sakura had began to ask Naruto a serious question about his feelings for her before they were interrupted in the hallway. They grabbed their respective swimsuits and the pinkette left to change in the adjoining bathroom, away from the eyes of the handsome hero. This room actually provided privacy, not like the room that they had stayed in at the inn the night before.

oooOooo

(Naruto POV)

The blond hero changed quickly into his swimming trunks in the bedroom. All he had to do was remove his shirt, jacket, pants and throw his trunks over his underwear. As he was changing he had the notion that something at the back of his mind was telling him that he was being watched. Naruto remained calm and acted normal as he finished changing. He started to put his clothes back in his suitcase as he tried to focus on his gut feeling that he was being watched.

The blond closed his eyes and entered the seal inside of his stomach. He appeared in the dark room, ankle deep in water, face to face with a towering orange demon.

"Hey, Kurama, do you sense any strange or suspicious chakra around?" He asked the fox.

The demon opened one eye lazily and shifted its weight as it laid.

"No, Naruto, I don't sense any chakra around except yours and your girlfriend's." The chakra beast ended with a smile that sowed his large fangs.

The blond hero of the Leaf sighed and walked over to the demon.

"I told you that she's not my girlfriend, Kurama. She doesn't even like me anyway…" His voice low and soft finishing his reply.

The monstrous fox opened both of his eyes fully and rolled them slowly.

"You really are a baka aren't you, kit?"

"What does that mean?" The blond demanded.

"I mean that's it's probably that girlfriend of yours watching you. You were changing after all." The demon said simply. This received a confused look from the hero.

"What are you talking about? Why would Sakura-chan watch me change?" Asked the ever dense blond.

The fox let out a long sigh and turned to Naruto.

"You are hopeless, kit."

"Whatever, Kurama, I have more important things to do right now then to talk to you about this again. I still feel like I'm being watched. If it's not someone then what could it be?"

The blond left his seal and his mind returned back to his body, opening his eyes. He casually turned and walked around the room, scanning it from floor to ceiling, trying to find the source of whatever was watching him. The hero looked towards the bathroom door that connected to the bedroom, sure enough, just as he told Kurama, Sakura wasn't watching him. He was about to give up on his search as his eye fixed on a collection of seashells hanging on the wall.

Immediately he knew that this was what he was looking for. He made his way closer to it naturally and spied it with his peripherals, from a normal glance it appeared to be a regular collection with seashells that wasn't very interesting to look at. That was what made it a great cover, one wouldn't give it more than a glance. But upon closer inspection the hero could see a small camera lens poking out of one of the shells.

Naruto played it off as naturally as he could, to make sure that whoever was watching didn't know that he saw the camera. The blond walked down from the loft, hearing the water turn on for the shower as he passed. Sakura must've hopped into the shower, Naruto didn't give it a second thought. He made his way around the first floor of their suite and walked around casually, trying his best to seem bored as he secretly looked around for more cameras.

The hero climbed the stairs back up to the loft, hearing the water turn off for the shower. He made his way to the circular king-sized bed at sat down on it. He had found a total of three cameras. One in the bedroom in clear view of the bed, the other two downstairs. One by the piano and the other facing the couches and chairs.

Naruto sat and tried to figure out why there were cameras in the room. Was it because they suspected that they were undercover? Or was that just a coincidence? Were their cameras in every room so that they could watch the couples in their rooms? Why would they do that? Were they there so that they could see the couples in bed, changing and stuff like that? If that were true then surely there was a camera in the bathroom as well-.

'The bathroom!'

The thought hit the hero like a truck. Sakura was in the bathroom changing and taking a shower. Some pervert was watching her!

The blond hero was on his feet and at the door leading to the bathroom before he could think. He flung open the door in a second, not a single thought in his mind but making sure that some guy didn't see Sakura naked.

Naruto threw himself into the steam filled bathroom in a flash, in front of him he saw a very surprised and very naked Sakura jump three feet straight in the air, letting out a high pitched yelp. Landing back on the ground the pinkette quickly reached for her towel to cover herself with.

The pink haired medic was about to yell at the hero when she saw the serious and worried look on his face, stopping her from beheading him.

The hero tried his best to look away and cover his slight nosebleed. He turned his head and covered his view of her with his hand.

"My apologies, Hana my dear. I did not mean to peek." Naruto said, playing his role. This caught the attention of the pinkette right away. She was about to say something when he moved his hand that wasn't blocking his view like he was taking with his hands but she recognized the motion immediately, Naruto had given her a brief, discreet hand sign that they were being watched.

"I thought I heard you call out for me, that's why I opened the door without knocking first. I wouldn't of if I hadn't. I am sorry." He said, acting out his character for the cameras. He couldn't really look around the bathroom with Sakura naked in there with him so he had to assume that there was a camera in there as well.

The pinkette blinked for a few times before she caught on, she needed to be playing her role too, they were being watched.

"It is not a problem, Yuuto. I know that you wouldn't do something like that."

The two stood motionless for a few seconds, not knowing what to say before Sakura spoke up.

"Um, Yuuto?" She asked softly.

"Yeah, Hana?"

"Can y-you... can you please leave so that I can change? I'm not wearing any clothes… it's kind of… uncomfortable." The pink haired medic answered. She was having a hard time not falling over, Naruto, the man whom she liked, had just seen her mostly naked from the side. She was blushing so hard her face was a tomato red.

"Oh, sorry, Hana. I didn't mean-. I didn't… I, uh, sorry. I'll be right back, I have to go do something." The hero said as he left the room.

On the other side of the room Naruto tried his best to calm his arousal. He didn't mean for it to happen but his member had shot up straight as a rod when he saw Sakura. Slumped back onto the wall he let out a few calming breaths before he stood back up. Now wasn't the time to relax and think about what happened, he needed to warn the others.

oooOooo

The blond hero of the Leaf knocked on the door and patiently waited for it to be opened. Well, as patiently as he could in the current situation.

The door opened to reveal a platinum blond beauty wearing a very tight and very revealing purple bikini. The blonde medic blushed when she saw the hero visibly shocked when he saw her in a swimsuit. She posed a little in the doorway, leaning forward to reveal even more cleavage, smiling.

Naruto averted his eyes and gave Ino the same discreet hand sign that he gave Sakura and tapped his head, another signal to tell her to use her Mind Jutsu.

"I am sorry for bothering you, Ichika, but Hana sent me over to ask if you wanted to go to the pool with us, but I can clearly see that you were already on your way." The hero was having a hard time concentrating, he had just seen Sakura naked from the side and now Ino was wearing what was basically nothing more than two thin pieces of purple fabric that wrapped her breasts. Her swimsuit left little to nothing to the imagination.

"Don't worry about it, Yuuto." The purple clad blonde said as she leaned even closer to the hero. She had to think a second to make sure that she called him his undercover name. He said that they were being watched, better use their undercover names.

"You know... Touma isn't here right now. He left to go ask about the dinner tonight. You can come in if you like…" She let it hang, hopefully he wouldn't act like himself for once and catch on and come in.

"Sorry, but I can't, Ichika. I have to get back to Hana. We can talk later at the pool if you want." He said as he turned to walk away. Ino quickly reached out and grabbed his arm stopping him.

"You wouldn't really leave me all alone in this big, empty room by myself, would you? Come on, just come inside, I have something I want to show you in the bedroom up in the loft." She almost felt like begging at this point. This was the perfect moment, they were alone and so close to a bedroom. All she had to do was grab his arm, pull him in, close the door and put him under her gen-.

The platinum blonde was pulled from her perverted thoughts when the hero lightly pulled his arm from her grip.

"What are you talking about? You're fine being by yourself, besides, Touma will be back any minute. You won't be lonely then." He said with a smile. A frown crept on the woman's face, how was he this dense, really?

"See you at the pool, Ichika. Later." Said the hero, lightly tapping his head again before he turned and walked away.

After a few seconds and as he was turning a corner the blond hero of the Leaf felt Ino enter his mind and connect it with the others via her Mind Transfer Jutsu.

'Sorry for the intrusion everyone, but we have a slight problem.' Said the platinum blonde in their minds.

'What slight problem?' Asked Shikamaru.

'I don't know but Naruto told me that we were being watched, so I contacted everyone so we could speak without anyone hearing us.'

'Well then, Naruto?' The genius asked.

'I don't know if they're in all of the rooms but I found a total of three cameras hidden in mine and Sakura's room. One in the bedroom in a collection of seashells that was in plain view of the bed and the other two down on the first floor. The first being by the piano and the other hanging on the wall by the large couch by the chairs.' The hero told all of them. He heard several thoughts all jumbled at once as the others thought of this.

'What about the bathrooms? Are cameras in there too? I was about to change in there, I don't want to provided whoever's watching a strip show.' Said Temari in their minds.

'Well I really hope that there isn't any in the bathroom, I just took a shower! I was completely naked!' Said a very worried pinkette.

'I don't know about the bathrooms, I wasn't able to check since Sakura-chan was in there.' Naruto admitted.

'I'll check if there are any, I'm already in here anyways.' the pink haired medic said but Shikamaru quickly interjected.

'Wait, Sakura! Let me check for you.' Everyone was confused as to why he was so adamant about it.

'Why? I'm already in here.' Asked the pinkette.

The group heard a mental sigh coming from the Nara heir.

'Because, whoever is watching right now is more likely to watch a girl in the bathroom then a guy. If you start looking around for a camera then they'll notice. But if I, a guy, goes in then most likely whoever is watching won't even bother watching me.' There was silence for a few seconds as everyone thought over what he said, he was right. It was more likely that someone would watch a girl through a secret camera in the bathroom than a guy.

'Makes sense.' The pinkette agreed.

The genius of the Leaf walked into the bathroom in his and Temari's room and looked discreetly around for any cameras.

'I don't see any in here. I don't see any cameras.' He reported.

'You sure, Shika? Because I don't anyone watching me in the shower.' The Sand ninja asked.

'I'm sure, I checked three times. There are no cameras in the bathrooms.' Shikamaru replied.

'Shikamaru, I am walking in the hallway to the rooms, I can confirm that there are cameras in the halls as well.' Reported the pale ninja.

'I figured as much. I saw some cameras in the lobby as well when we arrived. I was expecting to run into a few cameras on this mission. Considering where we are, these people who are running this smuggling ring are careful. If they have cameras in the rooms on the ship where we are spending just one night then we have to assume that the rooms on the resort will be under surveillance as well.' The lazy genius stated. The group heard him end with his trademark sigh.

'As of now the mission is still a go. However, as of now we must be even more cautious. We must watch ourselves, making sure that we always act and stay in character because we are under watch. We must consider that at every moment that we are being watched, not just by the cameras in our rooms but others on the ship and resort. We must also watch ourselves in front of the other guests. It is impossible to know who is here for just a regular vacation or who is part of the operation.' The group of ninja all thought over what he said. It made sense, they would have to be even more careful now.

'That also means that as of now, we all must act out our characters twentyfour seven. The only privacy that we have that we know of is in the bathroom. That means that we must act as in love young couples for the remainder of the mission. Or until we are one hundred percent sure that we are not being watched.' The others thought that he was going to continue but Shikamaru stopped.

'Wait, are you saying that we have to…' Ino started to ask but trailed off, knowing the answer.

'Yes, as of now we must act as couples. That means that we must hug, kiss, show affection for our partner and most of all sleep in the same bed for the remainder of the mission.' Said the Nara heir simply. This was the only way. This is what they had to do.

oooOooo

(Naruto/Sakura POV)

The blond hero was making his way back to his room after the mental conversation with the others. He for one was a little nervous about having to act in love with Sakura for the entire mission. Now, don't get it wrong, he was more than excited at the idea of sleeping next to and being close to her for a month but he wasn't so sure that he'd be able to take it. Seeing Sakura almost completely naked like that not even fifteen minutes ago nearly gave him a hard attack. Luckily for him he didn't have to worry about things like that. It's not like he was dealing with Ino, Sakura always dressed and acted modestly, he didn't have to worry about anything.

Those thoughts were immediately flipped upside down and thrown aside within three seconds of him entering the room.

Waiting for him as he opened the door was a bent over Sakura, her butt in the air facing him in a very tight swimsuit as she was applying sunscreen to her legs. It took a few seconds but the pinkette noticed the blond hero behind her when he let out an 'ahem'.

Sakura shifted her weight and looked behind her while she continued to apply the sunscreen to her legs, her butt still in the air. She was about to greet her friend but was distracted by the look on his face. His eyes were a large as saucers, his mouth was on the floor and she could see a small line of blood dripping from his nose. It took her a few moments to connect the dots but the pinkette soon realised that she had her butt shoved into his face. She hadn't even thought of that, she was just trying to apply the sunscreen to her legs without sitting down as she would get some on the couch if she did.

The pink haired girl turned a dark shade of pink in a second. Naruto was staring at her butt and getting… flustered? Was he… attracted to her butt? Did he…? The pinkette's thought trailed off and the handsome hero blinked a few times times, coming out of his daze and averted his eyes from her for the second time today.

"S-sorry about that, Hana. I didn't mean to stare. I just, uh… wasn't expecting to see you like that when I opened the door. Sorry." The blond apologized again as he tried to wipe the blood from his nose discreetly.

"It's n-not a problem, Yuuto. It was my fault, really. Besides, it makes me smile when you look at me like that, it proves to me that you love me." The pinkette stood up as she spoke. Her last words caught her off guard, yes she was playing a role but she hadn't meant to say something as truthful as that.

"Well, uh, if you're ready then let's be off to the pool." The hero said, trying to act normally but having a hard time. Sakura's words surprised him for a few seconds before he remembered that she was just acting. It really didn't make her smile when he looked at her that way, why would it?

oooOooo

(Sakura POV)

The two nin arrived at the main pool on the ship after a brief walk through the ship. The sheer size of the vessel they rode on still amazed the pinkette. Never in all of her years of traveling the world had she ever seen a ship of this size. The pink and blond haired teens searched for an empty set of lounge chairs when the medic spotted Shikamaru and Temari not so far away with a set of empty seats next to them. Obviously they had kept them open for her and Naruto.

Sakura lead the way as the blond followed right behind, carrying her bag, towels, change of clothes along with his towel and clothes. She had told him that it would be fine if she carried her own things but he had insisted, saying that it wouldn't be 'polite' or 'chivalrous' if he made her carry her things. The pinkette didn't know that he even knew what chivalrous meant. So now he was trailing behind her, his arms full of her and his things for the pool.

Sakura and Naruto made there way to the empty lounge chairs next to Shikamaru and Temari but before they made a move to sit Naruto figured that he had better act like he didn't know them.

"Excuse me, sir?" He asked Shikamaru who was casually sipping a drink with a small umbrella in it. Said Nara lowered his sunglasses and turned to face the blond as he leaned back in his seat under a large umbrella.

"Yeah, can I help- oh hey! It's you, the guy who almost got in a fight back on the dock. How's it goin', man? What's up?" Asked the Nara heir. Both the blond and pinkette were immediately taken back by his total attitude change. He wasn't acting anything like he usually did. It was kinda… weird.

"Ah it's going good. Thanks again for breaking up the fight, if you weren't there then I don't know what would've happened." Naruto said truthfully. The pink haired medic was surprised at how well Naruto was able to act out his character and talk to Shikamaru like that. It had completely thrown her off.

"Nah, don't mention it, man. It was nothin'. I just didn't want you to get kicked off the cruise before it even started, ya know?" Replied the genius.

"Hey, you wouldn't mind if my girlfriend and I sat here, would you?" Asked the blond as he motioned to the seats a few feet away that were obviously saved for them but he had to ask and act like they had never talked before.

The usually stiff and formal Shikamaru let out a loud yawn as he stretched back and slid down in his reclining seat even more. He downed his drink and gestured that they could have the seat without a word. He then gestured to the blonde lying next to him in the shade.

"This is my wife, Yui Hamamoto, I'm Riku Hamamoto, we'd be happy if you'd sit next to us. It'd give us someone to talk to." Shikamaru held out his hand to Naruto who shook it firmly.

"Nice to meet you two. I'm Yuuto and this is my girlfriend, Hana. This is our first time to this resort."

"Same here, man." Shikamaru added.

"Nice to meet you, Hana." The blonde of the Sand nodded her head to the pinkette.

The four ninja sat and talked casually for awhile, enjoying the sun and the breeze. Before long a server came over and asked if they wanted drinks. The two Leaf ninja, Shikamaru exclude who said he was fine, ordered non-alcoholic drinks as they were underage and were surprised when Temari asked for a regular pina colada.

"What?" She asked after the server left to get their orders when she saw the looks on her friend's faces.

"I am old enough to drink if you haven't noticed. Besides, I'm pretty sure that no one here is going to check our I.D. to see if we're old enough to drink. Look around us, everyone is drinking. People around here don't care."

"True. But I've never drank before, I'm not sure if I should start now." The pinkette said.

"Oh learn to live already, Hana." Said Shikamaru as he placed his arms behind his head. "I've had like five drinks already and I'm fine. It won't kill you."

The pinkette raised a brow at this, she didn't know that Shikamaru drank alcohol.

Their drinks came and the four sat for awhile until Ino and Sai made their way over from their spot that they had been sitting at when the other couple on the other side of Naruto and Sakura had left. The platinum blonde made sure to take the lounge chair closer to the hero before Sai could.

"Hey Yuuto, Hana, it's great to see you. We've been looking for you guys everywhere." Ino said overly excited.

Hey, Ichika, Touma, how are you?" Asked Naruto with a smile. The pinkette couldn't help but notice that her rival moved her lounge chair closer to Naruto. She knew that she had to keep her eye on her, she was well aware of her plan to get Naruto to fall for her.

Temari made her way off her seat and laid a towel down on the deck and spread it out. She grabbed her bag and after rummaging through it for a few seconds pulled out a bottle of suntan lotion. She applied the lotion in silence and the pinkette had only one thought as she watched her; Temari lived in the desert, why did she care about having a tan? She was surrounded by sun everyday, surely she would naturally have a tan by now.

Temari sunbathed for a while as Shikamaru and Sakura remained in the shade as Ino, Sai and Naruto swam in the pool. The pink haired girl couldn't help but watch her two friend's in the pool, Ino was making every excuse to get close to Naruto and show off her massive cleavage. Completely forgetting that she was supposed to be acting like she was dating Sai. The pinkette was about to get up and storm over there and drag her Naruto away from that perverted pig when Naruto started making his way back to her with Ino and Sai on his heels.

Sakura was leaning all the way back in her chair as Naruto approached. She saw the water drip off of him as it glistened in the sun. Before she knew it she was staring at him like she was the pervert.

Naruto grabbed the towel off of his seat and instead of throwing it over his shoulders he used it to dry off his face and hair and sat next to her like that, his bare, muscular chest shining from the water. He quickly stood up again and stepped a few feet to the side to fix the large standing umbrella when he bumped someone with his back.

"Watch it, you assh-, you!" Sakura recognized the snotty and rude voice immediately. She'd remember that voice anywhere, it was the man who grabbed her butt then slapped her.

She turned in her seat to see the same man in Naruto's face, his nose four inches from Naruto's. The man shoved a finger at his chest.

"Get out of my fucking face you bastard before I kick your ass!" Naruto had a blank, uninterested look on his face and replied to the yelling man.

"Huh? Oh, it's you again… sorry, man, it was an accident. I-" But Naruto was cut off when the man attempted to push him back with his hands but Naruto didn't budge an inch. The man wore an angry expression over the apparent fact that he couldn't budge Naruto.

"Sorry my ass! You're gonna be sorry once I kick your ass again!" Yelled the man. Some of the nearby guests heard the commotion and watched, mostly bored and uninterested looks on their faces.

"Again?" The blond hero asked, confused. "You didn't kick my ass the first time though… what are you talking about? I kinda kicked y-"

The snobby man jabbed yet another finger into Naruto's bare chest and narrowed his gaze at him.

"I don't like your attitude! Do you have an idea who you're talking to? I could buy and sell your ass with the spare change in my pocket!" Sakura watched as Naruto gave another confused expression.

"Huh? Buy and sell me? What are you talking about?" The pinkette saw Shikamaru put down yet another drink and slowly begin to get up without the two guys seeing him.

The tension between the two men was momentarily interrupted when a bikini clad woman walked over and clung on to the other guy's arm.

"Hey, babe what are you doing? You're supposed to be spending time with me, not with…" The woman paused as she looked Naruto up and down as she peered over her sunglasses. Her voice softened and changed noticeably.

"Him." She finished. The pinkette could see how she was looking at Naruto as plain as day. She had the hots for him! How dare she! The woman just looked at him for a few seconds silently before she bite her lower lip and stepped towards the blond.

The pink haired medic was about to punch the woman into next week when she leaned into his muscular arm, sliding it as best she could between her sizeable breasts and used her painted nail to trace his chest slowly.

The blond hero tensed up immediately and attempted to step back but the large breasted woman held on.

"Hey there, handsome. You must be the one who punched Shou earlier, nice one." She whispered the last part so that Shou couldn't hear her but Sakura and Naruto sure did. Lowering her voice a little more she opened the bag hanging on her arm with one hand and brought out a small bottle.

"What do you say to helping me with my sun tan lotion?" She pressed her large chest into Naruto which received another uncomfortable look from the hero who was shooting a look to Sakura that read 'help me!'.

"I'd love to have a man like you rub his hands all-" She was cut off when the pinkette had enough and got in her face.

"Excuse me, but what the hell do you think you're doing to him?" Demanded an angry Sakura.

The light blonde bikini wearing woman turned her head to look at her without removing her hand from Naruto's bare chest. The young woman looked Sakura up and down over her sunglasses, seemingly unimpressed.

"And you are?" She asked rudely.

The pinkette moved an inch closer and raised her intensity a bit.

"I'm his girlfriend, who're you?" Sakura demanded.

The light blonde shifted her weight to one leg and practically thrust her butt to one side, trying to get it as close to Naruto as she could.

"You're his girlfriend?" The woman asked doubtingly. "I was sure that she was his girlfriend." She said, pointing her thumb in Ino's direction.

"She was all over him in the pool… Do you just share him with her? Or did you just not notice?"

This bitch was really beginning to piss Sakura off. How dare she say something like that? Yes, her and Naruto were only pretending to be a couple for the mission but she wasn't oblivious to every woman who threw herself at him. Unlike said blond. Sakura knew how other girls looked at him, and it pissed her off. This girl better watch her mouth, because Sakura was getting close to slapping this chick herself.

"So tell, me, handsome, why are you with… this, anyway?" The bitch asked as she motioned to Sakura before trying to get closer to him again but was met with the same cold shoulder he'd been giving her this whole time.

"Huh, wha-?" Naruto began to ask before he was cut off by a reddening pinkette.

"What did you say!?" Demanded Sakura. The other woman tilted her head slightly and glared at the pinkette.

"Ya heard me, bitch."

'On hell no!' Yelled the pinkette in her mind.

"Who do you think you are? Yuuto's mine, not yours! So get your chest and hands off of him!" The bikini lady scoffed and gave Sakura the look that she wasn't impressed.

"I don't see a ring on his finger, that makes him fair game." She got in the pinkette's face. "If you're not up for a little competition then that's not my fault. Besides… you should give up on him, he's clearly out of your league, you ugly b-."

"Fwwaapp!" A slap was heard across the entire ship. A pissed off Sakura looked to her hand in anger as a large, firm hand held hers in place. Naruto caught her hand, he stopped her before she slapped this chick! What was he thinking?!

"N-, Yuuto? What are you doing?" She demanded. She barely managed to not say his real name.

"I'm making sure that you don't do anything stupid, Hana. Sorry." The blond hero of the Leaf said in a clam, steady voice. He knew that if Sakura slapped this girl then her boyfriend would step in again and he would have to intervene. And as much as he wanted to, Naruto knew that hurting them wouldn't solve anything. It never did.

Her petite hand still in his, the blond lowered their hands and placed them down by their sides.

"Let's just forget about them, Hana. They aren't worth our time." Said the village hero.

"Don't say that, handsome, I'm sure that I would make it worth your time…" Said the woman who Sakura was now addressing as 'that bitch'.

Said pinkette had had it up to here with this girl, she was purposely grinding her nevers. She wanted Sakura to do something about it. And oh, was she really wanting to do something about it.

"But I-" The pink haired ninja started but was interrupted by the man called 'Shou' as he stepped in and tried to shove Naruto again but once again said blond didn't budge an inch. .

"Hey, asshole! Stop flirting with my girlfriend! You must want me to kick your ass, don't you?" Demanded Shou. The blond hero stepped in between Sakura and Shou again in a protective manner. Sakura would've blushed if it weren't for the circumstances.

"What is with you and wanting to kick my ass? I don't want a fight, man, really I don't." Naruto spoke calmly and used all his willpower to not clock the man in front of him.

"And I'm guessing that you don't want to, either. Us fighting won't solve anything, believe me, it never does. And back to what you said about your girlfriend, weren't you paying attention? I didn't say a single thing to her, she did all the flirting." The angry man known as Shou got red in the face with anger. He stepped closer to Naruto and jabbed another finger into his bare chest.

"What the hell did you say, bastard! My Niwa wasn't flirting with you! She's never flirted with another man besides me in her life!" Shou lightly hugged his girlfriend and she gave him her best innocent look. Making her eyes seem bigger and pouted a little. It was clear to the pinkette that she did this often. She had him wrapped around her little finger.

"Well I don't flirt at all, man. Believe me, I wouldn't do that sort of thing." Sakura could tell that Naruto was using every trick in his book to calm this man down and avoid a fight but it seemed to be a lost cause with this guy. A part of her wanted them to fight again, as Naruto would wipe the floor with him in an instant while still holding back. Way back. Sakura figured that if he got his ass handed to him enough times by Naruto then he would leave them alone for good.

"What are you talking about?" Shou demanded. "I just saw you flirting with my woman! You had her all over you!" Said blond hero sweat dropped, how was this guy so oblivious that his girlfriend was the one who was flirting?

"When will you get it through your thick skull? Yuuto didn't flirt with her! He didn't even say anything!" The pinkette was back to yelling again.

"Shut up, woman! Can't you see that the men are talking? Learn your place!" Demanded Shou as he turned his gaze back to Naruto.

That right there was the tipping point for the pinkette. He had the nerve to talk to her like that? Who in the hell did he think he was?

"My place?!" She demanded. She wore a furious expression that stopped both Naruto and Shikamaru in their tracks as they watched this unfold. This man didn't know who he was talking to. He was screwed.

"Chaaaa!" Screamed the small pinkette as her fist made contact with the man known as Shou with a satisfying 'snap' as the medic in her noted that she had fractured at least one of his ribs, maybe two. She really didn't care.

The tall man flew back a dozen feet and slid on the deck of the ship until he hit another set of chairs. The furious pinkette had her first still raised to the man in a challenging manner as he dizzily looked at her from his place on the ground. His slutty girlfriend let out a high pitched scream se she ran to him and kneeled besides him, trying to help him up.

Naruto, Shikamaru, Temari, Ino, Sai and all of the other guests in the area all stared in wonder after seeing a largish man get punched back a dozen feet by a girl half his size. Needless to say that the entire pool went silent. Every eye was on the undercover group of nin. And that was something that they didn't need nor want.

"We need to get out of here, everyone. The entire ship is watching us." The lazy Nara whispered low so that no one else could hear. Temari and Ino began packing their bags and Sai Shikamaru stepped in front of Sakura and Naruto so that they didn't do anything.

"Come on, we need to go". Shikamaru said as he ushered the two members of team seven out of there as soon as possible.

oooOooo

(About fifteen minutes later in Shikamaru and Temari's room)

(Shikamaru and Temari POV)

"Can you believe those two? How imature could they be? I mean, are they trying to get us kicked off the ship and reveal that we're ninjas to the entire ship?" A furios Shikamaru let out as soon as the door closed behind him to his room. Temari heard this and was immediately sent onto a worry.

"What are you doing, Shika?" She asked in a hushed voice and she got an inch away from him. "You're not helping us stay under cover when you announce to the cameras that were undercover, you idiot!" She lectured in a whispered voice.

A confused look went over the previously reddened face of the Nara heir who let out a 'huh?' This of course received an upset response from his girlfriend who responded in a low voice.

"What do you mean, 'huh?' There are three cameras in this room and you just admitted to them that we are undercover." Temari was wondering how he was being so absent minded, he rarely if ever made mistakes like this. He could've just cost them the entire mission. Didn't he realize that?

"What are you talking about, Tem? What do the cameras have anything to do with what I said?" He asked simply. She dropped her jaw and stared at him, was he serious?

"Are you serious, Shika? You said it yourself that we had to act in front of them and now you're acting like they're not a big deal." He gave her a confused look before she saw what must've been a lightbulb go off in his head.

"The cameras are a big deal, we do have to act in front of them. You're right about that." He confirmed. She gave him a 'I told you so' look and he continued. "But we don't have to worry about what we say in front of them, Tem." She gave him a confused look back.

"What I mean is this, we have all found three cameras in our rooms but not a single microphone in any of them. I am certain that while our rooms are under surveillance, they are only under video surveillance and not audio surveillance."

"So what are you saying? That we are free to talk normally in front of the cameras but we have to still act in front of them?" She asked. He only nodded his head in reply.

"Then why didn't you say that earlier, Shika? I've been calling you Riku all day! I've been making sure that I watched what I said to make sure that I didn't let anything slip as we talked as we got ready for the pool. Why are you just telling me this now?" She demanded.

"Well, I figured that everyone knew that… I thought that it was obvious. I was wondering why you kept calling me Riku when we were alone earlier." He said casually as the Sand ninja was fighting the urge to smack him.

"You can't just assume things like that, Shika. You know that. No one else realized this, everyone is thinking that they have to watch what they say and stay in character for the whole trip. What were you thinking?" She asked, finishing calmer than when she started. She and he made their way up to the loft to their bedroom and she slumped on the large circular bed as he rummaged through his bags for regular clothes to wear.

"Sorry… I uh, wasn't thinking straight. I know now that I shouldn't have just assumed that you all knew, including Naruto. Sorry, Tem, I was just distracted and didn't think about it." He replied softly as he slipped a fresh t-shirt over his head.

"It's fine, Shika. Just one question though, what could've possible been so distracting that it made you of all people miss somethings so obvious?" She asked as she laid back on the soft covers of the bed and watched him, waiting for an answer.

It took a few seconds by the Nara heir sighed and broke his silence. He turned around to look at Temari and motioned to the bikini-clad woman lying on the bed.

"This." Was his whole answer. Needless to say that it didn't provide the blonde with the answer she was looking for.

"This what?" She asked, confused to as why he would motion to her on the bed and say 'this'. That didn't make at sense.

The genius let out a sigh and continued. "You Tem, you were the distraction." Said the black haired shinobi simply.

"Huh?" Another sigh was heard by Temari followed by a 'troublesome' under his breath.

"You're in a bikini, Tem. Laying sprawled out on the bed with no worry about covering yourself." He said the last part quieter than the beginning.

""What are you talking about? So what if I'm laying on the bed, I've been laying out on the beach chair at the pool all day. So what? And what are you talking about covering myself?" She asked as she leaned in towards him that made him turn his gaze from her again.

"Look down to your chest, Tem." Was all he said. She raised a brow but decided to humor him, what could've been so important that made him not answer her question directly?

Temari turned her view down to spy her chest, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary besides that fact that she was wearing a bikini. Was that the reason why he was acting like this?

"I give, what am I looking for? I don't see anything." Admitted the confused Sand shinobi.

"Check your… left… uh, left uh…" He trailed off and was starting to turn a shade of pink that Temari couldn't help but notice.

"My left what, Shika?" She asked, knowing what he was referring to but curious as to why he wasn't saying it and also still curious as to why he told her to check them, they seemed fine to her.

"Your left… one." He tried but it wasn't good enough in her mind.

"My left one what?" She asked as if she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Your left… on your chest… your, uh left breast." He finally managed to force out.

"Breast?" She asked while trying to hold back a laugh. "Only my grandma still calls them 'breasts'. Call they what they are, Shika." She was having so much fun messing with him that she kinda forgot that he was trying to tell her something.

The Nara heir only turned a shade darker and blushed a bit. He was clearly having trouble talking about this, and that was why Temari was still talking about it. She loved to mess with him.

"... And that would be?" He dared to ask, his head still turned to look at the wall that was beginning to look very interesting.

"A boob, Shika. A boob. It's a boob. Call it a boob." She said simply.

The lazy genius looked like he was going to fall over, he was struggling to keep it together.

"I prefer not to call it that… I uh, would rather call-" He started but was interrupted by a blonde who was beginning to get annoyed.

"Well it's mine and I want you to call it a boob. We won't finish this conversation until you call it that. I'm prepared to sit here all day until dinner if we must. You've been doing this all day, it took me twenty minutes to get you to say 'bikini'. I mean, what's the problem? Whenever I even mention anything about my body or a swim suit or my underwear which you wouldn't call and still won't call 'panties' or anything you freeze up like this and get all weird. What is going on?" She asked, calming down a little as she got most of her anger out raising her voice.

The Nara heir stood in silence for a few seconds until he casually turned his head back to Temari which immediately made him turn away again.

"Fine, Tem, I'll say it. Check your left… boob." He managed to say.

She smiled and gave him a playful grin, letting him know that she was just messing with him and to not take it so seriously.

"Thank you. See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" She asked as she looked down to her chest again. Not seeing anything she gave him a confused look

"What about my boob, I don't see anything, Shika."

"Check the left side." He said again as he looked away. Seriously, what was his problem? Temari couldn't figure it out.

The Sand kunoichi looked back down for the third time at her bikini-clad breasts and inspected the left side as he told her to do and when she stretched her neck and turned it in her hand she saw what he had been talking about this whole time. So this must be why he's been avoiding looking at her!

"Why didn't you tell me that my nipple was showing? I was walking around dozens of people and you didn't say anything? What the hell, Shika?" She demanded. It took a brief second but the blonde blushed when it hit her, she'd been practically showing it off to him this whole time and she didn't even think about it. No wonder he was acting all weird. She quickly fixed her bikini and inspected it carefully to make sure that she was covered.

The lazy Nara held up his arms in defense. "Hold on, Tem, don't worry, it wasn't showing at the pool. Just when we got back and you plopped on the bed like that. It was also showing a bit before we left to go to the pool before you fixed it." He was trying to explain himself, it wasn't like he just let her walk around like that in public, he would've said something if that happened for sure.

She was going to say something about how long it took him to tell her but decided to drop it and go back to messing with him. She loved messing with him too much.

"So, how long were you staring before you said anything, huh? You get a good look in?" She asked playfully.

"Tem!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You don't like it when I talk like that, I get it. You're not like that, I heard you the first time."

"Exactly, I'm not like that at all. I wouldn't just look at you when you're like that, Tem."

"And why not?" She asked, still having fun seeing him blush whenever she said anything even slightly like that.

"Because I have a hard enough time looking at you in that swi-, bikini, as it is. So believe me when I say that I wouldn't just stare like that." He replied honestly. He was quickly learning that being Temari's boyfriend was bad for his heart, not in the sense that he was worried about her breaking his, but bad as in she had been making his heart rate go crazy since the mission began. He had trouble being calm when he saw her get up this morning, they had shared a bed and she had snuggled up against him before falling asleep. When he woke up she was practically on top of him, their legs were a jumble of limbs and she had her hand on his lower stomach on the rim of his shorts. He nearly had a heart attack from that alone and now he had seen her like that twice today. The Nara heir was wondering if she would give him an actual heart attack by the end of the mission.

Temari smiled and got up off the bed. "You know that you're one of a kind, right?" She said sweetly as she hugged him briefly from the side before reaching for her bag and a change of clothes.

"What do you mean?" Asked a confused genius.

"I mean that an other guy would just stare at me like I was a slab of meat. You're the only guy except for a small few that has ever looked at me the way you do."

He raised a brow to tell her to continue explaining.

"I mean that you're the one of the only guys that looks at me with respect. Don't get me wrong, guys aren't just looking at me with perverted eyes all day long but either they just don't look at me in fear of having to face the wrath of my father when he was alive or my brothers. If they do look at me then it's always behind my back. And always with dirty thoughts…" She trailed off and was shaken from her memories when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind.

Shikamaru was hugging her before either of them knew it. They stood and he held her for a minute before letting go, she turned around to hug him from the front and placed her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Shika. I needed that."

"I know, Tem. Now… go on and change already, I was being serious earlier about not being comfortable with you being in that swimsuit." She answered with eyes closed and head still on his shoulder.

"Bikini." She corrected.

"Whatever. Just change already, please?" He sounded like he was almost begging. She sighed and stepped back from him and grabbed her change of clothes and looked back to him.

"If you're so worried about me doing it as fast as possible then why don't I change right here?" She said while trying to hold back a laugh. She even reached back and pretended to start untying her bikini strap to mess with him more.

"Tem!" Shikamaru let out a high pitched version of his usual monotone voice and covered his eyes as he turned the other direction. The blonde couldn't help it anymore and burst out laughing she stopped messing with the straps and walked besides him and kissed his cheek for good measure before saying that he was 'too easy' and heading into the bathroom to change.

Shikamaru froze in place, she just kissed him! Yes they had already kissed before at the inn, a few times actually but still. It was the first time that she kissed his cheek. The Nara heir stood there for a few seconds before finally letting out a long breath of air. Finally allowing oxygen to reach his brain again so that he could think.

"I was right." He said to himself as he made his way to the bed to sit and wait for her to change. "That woman is going to be the death of me. So t-" He stopped mid sentence, stopping from saying his catchphrase. She wasn't it at all so he couldn't call her that. Yes she drove him crazy and he wouldn't doubt that she was trying to give him a literal heart attack but, he just couldn't bring himself to say it. He had used that word his entire life to describe things that he didn't like, couldn't stand, hated, and couldn't bother to care about. She was the opposite of all those things, the was…

"Perfect."

oooOooo

Author's Note: Thanks for reading, please let me know how you liked this chapter and sorry again for the very late update. Please Review, Follow and Favorite. Also tell me if you think I should change my uploading schedule to every other week from now on so that I can write longer chapters and more importantly write them better.

Thanks, Hephaestus out, until next time!