Chapter 14

Sakura dodged one of Hinata's Gentle Fists and dipped into the clearing. The Hyuuga woman was not well versed in long-range attacks, so the more distance there was between them, the better Sakura's odds would be.

"Don't let her run away!" Naruto yelled. His wife took to the trees, trailing behind Sakura swiftly.

Half of the day had gone by in a blur. Sunset was looming beyond the horizon now, and after their man-on-man battle previously, (which ended in a Sasuke/Naruto stalemate), the group paired off to finish a good day's work. It ended up not being a free-for-all, mostly because that would cause too much damage to the surrounding area.

Because it was the last fight of the day, everyone crowded around the two women, curious of who would come out on top.

Hinata's flat palms aimed for the delicate chakra points littered throughout Sakura's body. The girl was limber, however, and she managed to dodge and juke even the updraft of the Byakugan technique.

"You won't win on hand-to-hand, Sakura." Sasuke voice rang out. "You need to get distance and formulate a plan."

Hinata was relentless. Every time the pinkette took a step back, the white-eyed princess followed expertly. It was obvious that running was not an option. No battle was won by pure defense.

Sakura created a shadow clone and they twirled around each other. Those pupal-less eyes could see through the ruse easily, however. When the twins separated from each other and flanked the woman, Hinata prepared her rotation.

This continued—just as one clone dispersed, another arrived. The futile, repetitive behavior was not only frustrating to watch, it was also incredibly boring. Suigetsu yawned audibly—almost missing as Sakura finally found Hinata's blind spot and targeted her back with a kunai.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled. Rotating just in time, the princess managed to avoid serious injury.

"You're brilliant," The woman said to Sakura.

"You've gotten so strong!" Sakura replied.

Crinkling his nose as the strange exchange, Suigetsu leaned in to Jugo. "Sheesh, do you think they're gonna stop and hug while they're at it?"

"I would not mind if they did." The beast sheepishly admitted.

A quick, warning glower from the Jinchuuriki forced both men into silence.

Although Sakura's first plan of attack had failed, she was not finished yet. She took a deep breath, summoning energy into her right hand. The second her Cherry Blossom Impact hit, it pebbled the ground beneath Hinata and rendered her Gentle-Fist technique useless. The punch would have forced the spectators back, had Sasuke's partial Susanoo not shielded them.

Naruto notices the smirk that washed over the man's face, as if he were watching a protégé instead of a teammate.

With his Sharingan blazing, Sasuke watched as Sakura molded her chakra into scalpels. Her speed was mesmerizing; even with the upturned earth beneath her, she managed approach without hesitation.

Getting a proper hold at the last minute, Hinata leapt from a large boulder and managed to hit the woman mid-air, severing multiple chakra pathways at once.

This time, Naruto does the smirking. He even throws in a painful elbow, jamming it right into Sasuke's side.

The fight was far from over, however.

Sakura had precise chakra control. She could release her energy through every pore, and while main conduits successfully remained jammed, Sakura's quick analysis found that the tip of her left pinky finger retained fuel.

With her Byakugan, the white-eyed princess watched in amazement as Sakura manually re-opened the channels she'd just congested.

Sakura did not seem stilled at all. The woman continued to engage, hitting Hinata with the full force of her body. She aimed her chakra scalpels towards Hinata's ocular inheritance.

Naruto's hand halted her from anything further. She didn't even feel him approach.

"Let go," she says. "I wouldn't have done it."

Grinning like a fool, Naruto obliged. "I know, I just couldn't risk it. You both did great. Neither of you will have a problem passing the next phase."

Sakura was breathless, meeting her friends smile with her own. "You should treat us to a spa, right, Hinata?"

The supine woman groaned. "That…is a wonderful idea."

Suddenly, the Jinchuuriki remembers something. He digs into his pocket, searching around for something important. "Ah, here it is! I have a coupon for that new bathhouse in central."

"No way," Sakura yelps. "That's the high-tech one with the regulated water-temperature, isn't it?"

"The very same," Naruto responds. He helps his wife up and nods towards the slowly approaching men. "Are you guys up for a spa day?"

Sasuke blocks the sun from Sakura's eyes as he looks down on her. She awaits any kind of praise—a "nice form" or a "you didn't completely suck"—but he does not cast a reel and she cannot bite the bait. The unkind man doesn't even offer to help her stand. The pinkette groans.

"Sasuke, don't be an ass. Give Sakura some of your water."

He starts to protest but Naruto gives him a look. The "I have something on you" glare Sakura had come to recognize in the past few hours they'd all sparred.

With an agitated sigh, he opens his canteen and rubs the nozzle with his shirt, removing his germs.

Sakura doesn't bother being offended by the gesture. She was around the sickly often, and being too precautious never hurt anyone. Accepting the heavy container, the woman thirstily slurps up the liquid.

To her surprise, when she passes it back, Sasuke finished the cold drink directly. Confusion littering her features, the kunoichi starts to ask why he'd bother wiping it off in the first place, when Naruto pops into her vision.

"So what do you say?"

Sakura looks away from Sasuke with a confused expression. "About what…?"

Naruto groans and rolls his blue irises at her antics. "If you'd quit undressing that bastard with your eyes and listened, I wouldn't have to repeat myself! I asked if you'd like to come to the bathhouse with us."

She doesn't deny the allegation and, instead, looks between Hinata and Naruto, blinking slowly. "I won't be a third wheel to your perverse, after-training romp."

The realization hit Hinata with a smack.

"No, no that's not what he-he's asking!" She stuttered, falling back into her old habit. Her face enflamed from embarrassment as she tried to explain herself, waving her hands in front of her. "We can invite Ino and a few others. We could have a girl's bath and the boys could…um…go too. But…separately!"

Hinata pressed her index fingers together and Naruto watched them with clouded eyes. Her actions reminded him of her younger self, and he enjoyed his wife's flustered side.

"Suigetsu and I cannot go, as wonderful as it sounds." The beast admits. "Your Hokage asked us if we would see him today, and it's already so late in the evening."

Nodding in understanding, Naruto offers a fist bump. "Alright, guys. We'll see you all later."

Sakura washed her body before she entered the springs. It was a newer onsen and it had been built only a few months ago. Most of the villager's preferred natural springs and baths, but Sakura didn't mind. She hadn't ever been one that valued tradition.

Old ways weren't the best ways.

Ino and Hinata walked in together, slowly letting the steam waft around there well-endowed bodies. It reminded Sakura of the dirty romance novels she'd peeked at while in the stores. She never had the guts to buy them, but man, did she look.

"Take a picture, forehead, it'll last longer." Ino barked out. In the water, the strands of her hair refused to sink and instead, floated atop the surface.

"You're just so beautiful." The rose-haired girl admitted with a grumble. Though her words were genuine, they weren't meant to be sweet.

"Oh, you poor thing…you'll get my figure in a few more years. Maybe you'll even get your period, too!" She chuckled and Sakura dipped her head low into the water. Ino's tease had hit a sensitive nerve. Her periods had been irregular and had almost stopped arriving altogether since…since the incident. If course, Ino hadn't meant anything by her words.

A heavy laugh from the men's side made its way to the women, causing them to startle and cover their bodies. They were separated by a large, manmade tree barrier that was coated in plastic for easy cleaning. There would be no opportunity for peeping, as the shiny panels would not deteriorate in time.

"What are they so happy about?"

Naruto had been the first into the water. During his travels with Jiraiya, he'd been to all sorts of bathing sites and even soaked in the oldest onsen in the entire ninja nation. This small, artificial landscape wasn't near a relaxing as he'd hoped, but being surrounded with friends certainly made it worth it. Shikamaru and Choji had just finished showering when they walked into the room.

"You've finally arrived! I've been stuck between a wet dog and a gloomy pussycat for longer than I can stand." Naruto yelled, referring to Kiba and Sasuke.

Sasuke had not planned to come at all. The threats Naruto sent him were becoming bothersome, and if it carried on much longer, Sasuke was sure he'd end up making the man's instant ramen by the end of the exams—just to keep his mouth shut.

Sasuke had ignored both of their conversational advances and drifted into the corner by the fountain, trying to salvage a bit of relaxation before the others arrived.

"Oh, lover boy's not in a good mood today?"

Sasuke glared at Shikamaru.

It didn't faze the genius. He had no problem talking openly about Sasuke's illicit, undisclosed behavior. The public opinion of him had been either pure disdain, or wholesome adoration. He was either a God King, or a traitor, and Shikamaru knew Sasuke was neither. Not anymore.

It was silly, but Naruto and Shikamaru quit enjoyed the hold they had over the Uchiha.

"Eh, Shikamaru…what are you talking about?" Naruto asks with an exaggerated, fake laugh. It bounces around the replica environment and for a moment, the undecipherable chatter from the woman's side pauses.

"I'm under no obligation to play buddy-buddy with you." Shikamaru makes after a moment. He doesn't look at Sasuke, purposely acting haughty. Kiba and Choji watch the exchange curiously, and when a wave of menacing aura blooms between the three, they slowly edge towards the opposite side.

They opt for minding their own business, speaking about their love interests and the approaching exams in hushed whispers.

Sasuke is not stupid. He knows how, with a slight raise of his voice, Shikamaru could oust him without much effort. Though Kiba and Choji had read the atmosphere and drifted away from the triad, it didn't mean they were completely out of the conversation. From the openness of this area, the women could also hear.

Sasuke sees that the intellectual refuses to meet his gaze, and it angers him.

"Shikamaru," Naruto reprimands with a sudden authority, reading the situation. "I was just playing around. Sasuke and I have worked out a deal, so…"

"…so, that doesn't involve me." The man retorts casually.

Sasuke's voice is steady. He doesn't enjoy playing cat-and-mouse. He likes to kill his prey outright. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you're cocky and you piss me off."

Sasuke doesn't feel the need to change his personality to suite anyone—he never had, and he never would. He did find humor in Shikamaru's truthfulness, however. "It sounds like you're jealous."

The tension weighed cripplingly between them.

Naruto was confused by the altercation—absolutely, completely, wholly confused. For as far back as he could remember, Shikamaru was always an easy-going person. He didn't have the energy or want to spend time loathing someone. The Jinchuuriki wasn't expecting Shikamaru and Sasuke to be the best of friends after their dispute in the surveillance room, but he wasn't expecting this either.

Shikamaru stood aggressively and Sasuke, still out in the openness of the water, eyed him with disinterest. It was his turn to be haughty, and his prideful nature was not a product of his environment. He did not need to play the big, bad wolf.

Struggling to keep his composure, the spikey-haired shadow summoner growled out another retort. "Jealous of a traitor? Tell me, how well did you sleep when you abandoned us all and dreamt of our demise?"

Scoffing, Sasuke tilts his head. "You are really fucking rich. What was it like neglecting your teammates, rushing in to kill the Akatsuki member that ended Asuma, and failing yet another manned mission? Good thing Kakashi was there to bail you out."

Shikamaru raises his fists towards Sasuke. "Don't you ever mention his name."

Shooting his own threat back, Sasuke's Sharingan flashes to life.

Jumping between the two, Naruto waves his arms around and yells. "I don't know what kind of battle is going on here, but it needs to stop! Both of you need to calm down."

Sasuke ignores him, wiping steam from his eye. "You're angry at me, because we're similar. Except, even when my friend tried to join my defection—I refused her." The water ripples around him as he approaches. "That's why you're so angry—you saw the video, and you know that you did wrong and I did right. Is that it?"

"Hey, Sakura," Shikamaru calls loudly. The women's voices grow quiet. Choji and Kiba look in the trio's direction inquisitively.

"Uh, Shikamaru, is that you? What's wrong?"

She can barely be heard from the pitter-patter of the rushing fountain.

This does not halt Sasuke like Naruto and Shikamaru presume it would. Instead, the Uchiha sighs and looks up at the roof, eyeing the condensation as it rises steadily.

"You rely too much on your intelligence." Sasuke says. "People blindly follow you, the man who cannot admit or accept his mistakes. While I denied my teammates interventions—even when she begged, you readily accepted their help."

"I have to show you something after we leave here." Shikamaru yells out, straining his voice in the echoing sauna.

Sakura wrinkles her brow and paddles to the edge of the pool. There was an intense sensation wafting from the men's side. They were arguing about something.

"Are you sure everything is alright?"

"Just shut the fuck up," Sakura can hear Sasuke say. She closes her eyes, trying to eavesdrop further.

"What's that, Sasuke? You can't be serious! You're telling me that—."

The sound of Chidori chirped into Sakura's ears. With a cracking boom, the barricade that separated the two sexes was suddenly turned over by the force of four fleeing men. As soon as Sasuke's electrified chakra encountered the water he sat in, an electric moan shattered the bulbs above.

Blackness blanketed the shinobi in a matter of seconds, leaving them all in wet obscurity.

"What the hell is going on here?" Ino roared in the darkness. The forged warmth of the heated water was slowly dissipating—no one could see well enough to crawl out of the bath.

"He's gonna kill us all!" Choji sputters, hacking up water that he'd inhaled. "Sasuke's gone psychotic!"

"Calm down," Kiba commands swiftly, turning his head towards the sound of his voice. "If he wanted us dead, we'd be dead."

"Will everyone just shut up already?" The gravelly tone of Konoha's Hokage-to-be hides his impatience. "I can't even tell what side of the water I'm on! Where are the steps? Can anyone hear me?"

Naruto's splashing sounds close, very close. Hinata waves her hands around the water, following the sound of his voice when a startling realization overcomes her.

"N-Naruto…" She asks, stilling. "Are…you all in the same bathwater as us?"

"Eh…heh…well ya see…"

"You pervert!" Sakura screeches. She'd been silent up until this point, trying to float her way towards an exit. "You're all jackass perverts!"

"It's not like we could see anything of hers, even with the lights on…" Kiba mumbles to Choji. When a sharp yank drags him underwater, he realizes that the slender fingers that grip him don't belong to Choji at all.

"I heard what you said, you wet dog!" Ino yells.

"I…it was Sasuke's fault, Sakura! He tried to take us all with his Chidori!"

Sasuke, who'd been silent up until that point, scoffs.

Flaming at the nonchalance of his tone, Sakura scolds all who are involved. This was supposed to be a relaxing bath. This was supposed to be a cool-down, an evening of serenity after a hard day's training. Despite being separated, the boys still somehow managed to add another pound of anger onto Sakura's thinning nerves. "I don't know what the hell is going on between you guys—all of you—but if it doesn't get resolved I'll personally slaughter everyone myself!"

"Yeah, Sasuke," Shikamaru mocks. "Why don't we resolve it?"

Sasuke's Sharingan roared to life, giving him an unabashed view of the scantily clad adults before him. Finding Shikamaru easily by the dull glow his chakra gave off, the Uchiha steps onto the brim of the water and makes his way to the man.

"Sasuke…" Ino calls out. He watches the water dip from her movement. "Are you…can you see us?"

He cursed his glowing kekkei-genkai in this moment.

At this, Naruto splashes around like a guppy. "I see your eyes, datebayo! Help us out of here, asshole! You're the one that caused this!"

Because of the previous altercation, when the barrier between them broke down, it caused the entire bath to flood over and separate everyone. While no one was in any real danger, the mess was quite bothersome.

Hinata stands up tall, keeping as much of her body out of the water as possible. She had to admit, without the artificial heating, the bath was getting cold quickly.

It was odd that the staff hadn't come by yet, but she figured it had to do with the automatic door system that was set up. In hindsight, having an electronically manipulated environment around pools of water couldn't be the best of ideas. If they were all civilians with no chakra aptitudes, this could have been an even worse situation.

She hears a splash of water to her right suddenly. Hinata does not needing the aide of her visual jutsu to see the red and purple hue surrounding Sasuke's eyes.

"Walk straight," he tells her quietly. "Feel around for that boulder up ahead, and then move clockwise until you can touch the metal railings."

Just as softly, she follows his directions, leading herself out.

It takes about 10 minutes for him to lead everyone to the bank. Somehow, Naruto had ended up out in the very middle with Choji. Getting frustrated with trying to describe the objects around them, Sasuke all but drug him to the edge.

A rapid succession of thumps, followed by a muffled voice filled the air. "We are sending help! Please don't destroy the building! It's just been refurbished!"

"Is that the staff?" Ino asks, pulling herself up with Shikamaru's help. The hairs of her arms stood up in response to the cold.

"Sounds like it,"

"I'll give you ten minutes!" The blond yells. "If I'm not out of here by then, I'm going to get Sakura to punch a hole through the roof! Isn't that right, Sak—Sakura? Where are you?"

Hearing her name, Sakura ducked under the once moving waterfall. She didn't have the courage to show her skin to everyone again. Adrenalin isn't pumping through her—not as it did during her fight with Jugo. She's cold, wet, and annoyed. Adding embarrassment on top of this nightmare would only add to the stress.

She gulps. "I'm okay! I'll just wait in here."

It's the most ludicrous thing Ino's heard all day. "Stop being a brat and get over here! It's too cold for you to prune up in there, prude!"

"I'm not a prude!"

Being a natural-born situational saver, Naruto stands tall and cups his mouth, hoping his call would find her. "No one's going to look at you like that with Ino and Hinata here, datebayo."

Breaking off a piece of plastic, Sakura throws it directly into his echo. From the painful bark that followed, she knows she's hit her mark.

"There, there," Hinata says, petting his spiky hair. "Maybe you should just…keep quiet, dear."

Ino agrees. "I second that—and you too, Kiba."

Nestling down into her gloomy crevice, she submerges deeper into the bath. Sakura almost doesn't notice the sloshing footsteps of an approaching Sasuke.

He moves his feet along the brim, approaching her chakra. It flutters like a bird—a little mint glow that does not seem impressive in the least. Sasuke knows just how well she can control that flutter, however. She was a force to be reckoned with.

Sakura feels his heat as he hovers above her. Sasuke, apparently, hadn't been in the icy bathwater since short-circuiting everything.

"How did you get in there?"

Watching closely, Sasuke sees her turn away from his voice and burrow deeper into a curved, overhanging plastic ledge.

Sakura was a difficult one. The woman either recoiled from his touch, or imposed herself upon him. "Let's go already. You'll get sick if you soak much longer. Then you won't be able to complete the exam."

"That's a myth," she retorts, curling her arms around her chest. "Really, I'm fine. Go on ahead."

Sasuke sighs.

If he were a boy, he'd do exactly what he did with Naruto and drag her out by force. If he were a teen, he'd do as she said, leaving her to her cave. Sasuke is a man, though, and he cannot leave her to freeze.

"I won't let anyone see." He all but whispers.

At this, Sakura rolls her eyes. "You can see, and that's the problem."

"It wasn't a problem yesterday."

Hearing a splash, he instinctively backs away.

"It was a problem yesterday!"

Squeezing her eyes shut, the woman laments. Her shoulders shook from the temperature and her nose felt numb, as though it was seconds away from falling off. She'd experienced so many different emotions in these last few days. Hell, Sakura had almost died, too! How much more could she take? When would she have another outburst, as she did with Jugo? Why did everything go wrong for no reason?

Was this was it was like, having Sasuke back? Would he only bring her instability? She'd end up just as crazy as he was. A sentence makes its way into her ears, and Sakura is almost sure she hadn't heard it.

"I wouldn't disrespect you."

I wouldn't disrespect you.

I wouldn't.

"But Sasuke, you did."

Suddenly, hot tears spill from her cheeks even though her face shows no emotion. That's exactly what Sasuke had done—what he continued to do. It seemed that, no matter what Sakura did or said, he wouldn't change. She couldn't beg him to stay. She couldn't prove her worth to him. She had to blackmail him into helping her and listening simply because he was already being blackmailed by Naruto.

It wasn't fair. This life wasn't fair, and love shouldn't have to be this hard. She turns her back towards him. She'd rather freeze that take his offering. She didn't know what to do.

The water dips as Sasuke falls into it. He's behind her now, instead of above, and Sakura doesn't move as he approaches.

What could he say to that revelation? He was such a hypocrite. Sasuke hated what he was becoming, hated where he was in his life right now. It seemed like…like everything would be better off and back to normal if he'd just leave.

Why did he even bother with these exams in the first place?

"I'm sorry," He says, making sure that Sakura could hear him. She blinks at the genuineness of his words. "I don't know why I keep hurting you, and the people I care about. I don't like being in this village. I feel trapped."

Sakura turns, surprised that his sharingan is no longer activated. He feels the water rippled around him as she moves.

"You don't know how much that breaks my heart," She begins. "Your home…should make you feel happy and safe. I've noticed a change in you, since you've been here. You're agitated and curt. Is this what's been bothering you?"

He doesn't speak. But he doesn't have to.

The best thing about Sakura was her ability to forgive. She accepted his earnest words. She knew that, even though he probably hadn't wanted to admit any of this aloud, he was trying to get something across to her.

"I'm sorry, too." She says, reaching out to him. He says nothing and guides her out of the plastic cave. They stand upon the water, activating their chakra effortlessly.

As they continue their slow progression in silence, something happens. The lights crackle and flicker rapidly, the groan of pumps and wires fill the air, and the rush of the waterfall blooms forth.

A bright, white light illuminates the bathhouse, and Sakura's standing on the brim for all to see. Somehow, she's forgotten that she's completely naked.

Panicking, she does the only thing she can do. Sakura presses her chest to Sasuke's naked back and screams, wrapping her arms around his torso like a makeshift belt.

Kiba is the first to laugh, though the others soon follow. He calls out to the pool. "You've seen me naked a hundred times, Sakura! You're too sensitive!"

Sasuke can feel the movement of her lips on his skin. "You're usually bleeding to death when that happens. I'm perfectly conscious right now!"

"Stop being so dramatic!" Ino chides. "Everyone's only laughing because you're making a big deal of it!"

"R-really, Sakura," Hinata calls softly, nodding in agreement with Ino's statement. "We're all friends here."

"If you were my friends, you'd leave already! The doors are open now! Get out!"

Hearing no response, Sakura musters up the courage to peek from around Sasuke's arms. On the bank, they all sit in various stages of undress. Naruto sits on the tile with Hinata behind him. Her shoulders are draped with a spare towel.

Ino, however, is unabashedly bare. Her legs are crossed in a classy, arrogant sort of way, which is not an easy feat. Standing to her right, just as open with himself to all, Kiba works water through his ear with the aid of his pinky. Even Choji doesn't seem bothered.

Sasuke is bothered, though, and it's not in a way he wants to can feel everything like this. Sakura's latched so firmly to him. Her breasts, which react from the cold, mold to the concave of his back.

The sensation of the water lapping his navel, the caress of her frozen fingertips digging into his abdomen, the tickle of her orchid hair as it pinpricks the blades of his shoulders…it frustrates him. It's like he's on fire.

Sasuke pulls at her wrists. "Let go,"

The flip in his personality is so abrupt. He goes from protector to neglector in a matter of minutes, suddenly behaving callously and unkind. She flinches from his order, feeling her heart race as he squeezes her wrist tendons so tightly that her fingers uncurl.

Sakura has to think quickly. What should she do? As she releases her hold, she notices a scruffy flutter on her lower stomach. Sasuke is wearing a towel around his waist.

Oh, my, what a wonderful idea she's thought of.

In a swift movement, the woman lurches her arms away from Sasuke and expels the chakra around her feet. As she falls into the cold, her fingertips hook around the fabric of his towel. It takes only seconds for the thing to fall from his hips. The heavy fabric cloaks her torso perfectly. Sakura climbs onto the water's surface again, leaving Sasuke behind as she bolts for the exit.

"What the hell?" He shouts as she scurries to the ledge. Did she—did she just…?

Sakura slips on the stone once her feet touch it and her legs slap the floor, but it does not halt her. Before anyone could even process her actions, Sakura is out of the door.

Silence engulfs them as they all stare at naked specimen ahead.

"Did…" Ino starts, stuttering like a fool. "Did Sakura steal your towel?"

Naruto's howl rockets around the room. A cacophony of laughter pours out, mostly from the men, which has a lot to do with pride. They did almost die in one fell swoop because of Sasuke.

Shikamaru calls out to the man, wiping a tear from his eye. "Oh, don't tell me. Now you're gonna stay in there until we throw you a cover?"

Vulgarly Kiba adds, "Are you afraid we'll see your…?"

Reminded of Sai's remark towards his own manhood, Naruto joins in on the fun. "Ha! If he even has a—"

Turning towards the exit, Sasuke makes his way across the water and onto the stony slab, not covering up a thing. He walks with no embarrassment or hesitation. He's too angry to give a shit.

"Boy, that sure shut you guys up." Ino cackles. "Huh, Kiba—why are you hiding yourself up now? Feeling a little self-conscious?"