Part III
Chapter 21 – What's With Your Face? Naruto's Second Hot Springs Experience!
Somewhere in the river country…
"…zzz…zzzzmph…wha…wazzuh?…d-damn curtains…"
Naruto forced both eyes open and sat up in his moderate motel room. He broke an enormous stretch and got to his feet, half glad that he was awake.
The dream last night had been a strange one. He had caught up with Orochimaru at last, only to be challenged to a duel by his hated enemy. Of course, Naruto had taken up the offer, yet as he moved closer, Orochimaru's clothes kept falling off. Eventually, Naruto could not mentally bring himself to fight a naked ninja and ran away screaming as eerie, high-pitched childrens' laughter echoed behind.
Must've been the ramen, he thought, shaking his head. He brushed his teeth fervently and looked at his room's reflection in the mirror. Iruka continued snoring in the bed across. "…zzzzzzzz……..zzzzzzzzzzzzz….."
Naruto looked into the mirror and saw his mouth creep into a sly grin.
"He won't ever see it coming, preciousss!"
"B-but…it's Iruka-sensei!" Naruto pleaded to his reflection. "I don't want to piss him off, and at 7 in the morning…"
"LIESSS! We wants to piss him off…we wants it, yessss…Nollum, Nollum!"
"Oh…alright…"
Naruto turned around and snuck up onto Iruka's bed and right next to his sleeping form. Quietly under his breath, he whispered, "Sexy no Jutsu…"
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Meanwhile, across the hall…Sakura twisted and turned in her sleep as her usual dream of making out with Sasuke continued. Suddenly, his image began to fade…someone else was calling out to her.
"S-Sakura-chan? A-are you having a nightmare?"
Sakura stopped moving and snuggled against the pillow, keeping her eyes shut. Mmph……………wait a minute…this isn't a pillow!
"Oh, Hinata-chan? Hehe, I'm really sorry about that…you could've just asked…if you wanted to sleep in the same bed……zzz…"
Sakura began to doze off again. She felt a little embarrassed that she had accidentally made out with Hinata, but right now, she was too exhausted to care.
"B-but Sakura-chan…I'm still sleeping in the b-bed across from you…"
Sakura's eyes widened.
"Then who's this?…Oh PLEASE don't tell me-"
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Back in Naruto's room…Naruto's jutsu was interrupted by Sakura's piercing scream from across the hall.
"YOU! YOU FILTHY, PERVERTED OLD MAN, GET OUT OF HERE! GET-"
Iruka bolted upright.
"What's going on? Is it an emergency?"
"Don't worry about it," Naruto sulked. "I think the Frog Hermit got caught in the act."
Suddenly, a shirtless, white-haired ninja burst through the door.
"Hehe," chuckled Jiraiya. "Uh…forget about that."
"You've hit a new low, Ero-Sennin." Naruto shook his head.
"Jeez, Naruto! All that happened was I went sleepwalking, and it just so happened I ended up in Sakura's bed! What are the chances?"
Naruto remembered something Jiraiya had said a few days ago…
Sakura! This immature act deserves severe consequences! Head for my motel room at once with a see-through skirt and three beers - here's my room key…
"Very high chances, now that I think about it," he shuddered.
Jiraiya snorted.
"We have to move on! Remember, our mission is to capture the Pervert Ninja-"
"I find that kind of hard now," muttered Naruto.
"That's why you're not mentally strong yet!" Jiraiya flexed his muscles and grinned, looking very Gai-like. "Even if it takes all your energy, you have to put this episode behind you…like the Bikouchuu episodes…or the Tea Country arc…or those damn Naruto/Konohamaru fillers…"
Iruka got off his bed and yawned.
"What are you talking about, Jiraiya-sama?"
"Uh…nothing. Let's just get some info, okay?"
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Two hours later at a hot springsa coupleblocks down…
"I thought you said we were going to find information, Jiraiya-sama."
Naruto and Sakura sighed.
"You'll learn, Iruka-sensei…eventually," said Naruto.
The party of five entered the bathhouse and put their gear to the side as Jiraya began barking out instructions.
"Hmm, since there's only two free spas left…Okay Iruka-san, you come with me. Naruto, you take the girls into the other one and, uh…talk things over…."
Naruto watched the two adults leave and turned to Sakura and Hinata.
"Well! Here's our chance to plan ahead and clean ourselves too while-"
He stopped in mid-sentence.
"Uh…Sakura-chan, what's with…what's with her face?"
Sakura waved a hand in front of Hinata. She could have been mistaken for a statue, except…
"Hey, Hinata-chan! Your face is turning so many weird colors…you want some medicine? Hello? Hinata-chan!"
Sakura shook her head and put her arms under Hinata's.
"Come on, Naruto…let's get you a bath for once in your life," she muttered as she dragged Hinata towards the empty spa.
Next Chapter: N-N-N-Naruto-kun…NO! D-Don't leave us alone, Sakura-chan!