"Baka! Where did they go! It's already been an hour!"

"Ano...aren't you taking this out of proportion, Sakura-Chan?"

"We finally manage to get those mute hermits out of the house, and then they just ditch us! You should be as mad as I am!"

"Control freak."

"Shizukani! Naruto!"

"Can't we just get in the water now? My skin is starting to melt." Kagami rocked back and forth impatiently, eyeing the cool water that beckoned her to jump inside. Hearing the sounds of people playing and splashing in the water didn't help either.

"Gomen. We're late...sort of." Kagami shouted in joy after hearing Sasukes voice and immediately ran for the deep end of the pool with her brother following like a shadow. Hinata lifted her chin up hoping to see Gaara, who wasn't actually in her field of vision yet.

"Sorry! Sorry?! Where did you go, anata baka!?"

"My otōto went back for something. But I don't think that I should be calling them objects, really."

"Them?"

"Nē, sore wa itai! Yamate!" (Hey, that hurts! Stop it!)

"Aya you're hurting him!"

"I'm not hurting him, Kira! Right, Oji-San?"

"Hr! I can't breathe!"

"Gaara-Kun!" Hinata burst up out of the chair she was in, rushing to the boy who now sat on the floor, rubbing his neck while laughing. Behind him were two young girls, both aged between the ages of eight or nine, one blonde and one brunette. On of the girls was hanging on to his back, looking at Hinata with her normal childlike curiosity. She looked down on them nervously, before noticing that the other child was staring at her as well. Knocking the two girls from their daze, he looked at them expectantly as if they knew what his next request would be. They both groaned, standing up and bowing to the stranger they were just meeting.

"My name is Izanagi Aya. Pleased to meet you."

"And my name is Sabaku Kira."

"Eh~? Ah! My name is Hyuga Hinata! Gomen, it's nice to meet you. "

"Are you my Oji-Sans girlfriend?" the blonde one shot out a question that made Hinata flinch. She stuttered for a while, embarrased to just spit the answer out directly. Already aware of her quiet and shy tendencies, Gaara intervenes by standing and moving to her side, grabbing her right hand gently. They both blushed, leaving Aya squealing in joy.

"Gaara-San! Get in the water, it's nice and cool!"

"I've said no already. Quit asking."

"C'mon why bring clothes to swim in if you're not going to do it?"

"Too much attention."

"Whaddya mean too much attention?"

"Just look at Sasuke."

Sakura swiveled her head per the boys request. As he said, Sasuke was recieving much unwanted attention from the surrounding females, and all he was doing was floating there in single spot. He held Kira on his shoulders, both of them laughing as he tried to maintain her steadiness. It was clear that his interactions with the sweet little girl were upping the levels of desire held by his afar admirers.

"He'll be fine, he knows better. Just, c'mon!" she grabbed him by his wrist, his bag of clothes in her other hand as she drug him to the men' changing area. He silently protested every step of the way although his word didn't make it to the ears of his pink haired tyrant. Throwing him into a changing stall, she refused to step away from the door unless he complied with her demands. With the speed of a ninety year old man, he took twenty minutes just to take off his shirt and put on his swimming trunks.

"Let me out."

"Changed?"

"No, Baka, I'm naked. Open the damn door." instead of waiting for her cooperate he kicked the door open, walking past her and towards the chair he was sitting in. He reclaimed his seat, closing his eyes while letting his next fall back. A few seconds into his feigned sleep, a finger prodded his chest. His eyes opened at the first contact, faking a smile when his nieces exchanged smiles of their own with him. Without a word of explanation either girl grabbed one of his arms, picking him up out of the chair, using their combined strength to drag him to the edge of the pool. As his toes wrapped around the edge, he used his superior height to balance himself from being pushed.

"Oi! Don't!" he teetered back and forth, Kira and Aya still trying to push him in.

"Just get in the water." Sasuke poked fun by splashing his legs with a heavy amount of water, getting a surprising reaction when he flinched. "Are you...scared?"

"I-I...I can't swim!" he screamed as he finally succomed to the girls' light shoves, falling over with a splash. Taking in his cries Sasuke and his friends gasped, wading in place to see if he surfaced. Keeping an eye on his location by following the red hair on his head, everyone submerged themselves to help him when he stayed at the pools floor. Gaara sat at the bottom, his water distorted vision eyeing the swaying forms of his friends who were swiftly coming to his aid. He was in the deepest part of the pool, making it hard for everyone else to reach him. Kagami and Naruto were the first ones to turn back and float to the surface. Halfway down, Sakura and Hinata ran out of breath, no choice but to resurface. Sasuke was the only one left, extending his hand, a torrent of bubbles escaping from his mouth. Hitching his fingers around Gaara's, his face dawned a look of terror when his body chose to float up on it's own. As he watched Sasuke float up without him, he screamed, only to be muzzled by the very element that was suffocating him. As he began to feel lightheaded, his already clouded vision had started to fade. Another silhouette came into view. Longing to be saved , he reached out, closing his eyes to embrace his end.