Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any character associated with it….except for myself, as always…Enjoy!

Hinata's POV

It was so warm inside, even just inside of the doors I could feel the warmth run over my skin. The interior had soft, warm colors from floor to ceiling, with plush furniture in between. Just the small waiting area screamed relaxation.

Sakura walked up to the reception desk. There was a pretty woman sitting behind the counter, her long brown hair draped over her shoulders. She looked up from whatever she was working on. "Can I help you?" she asked in a somewhat rehearsed tone.

"Reservation for Sakura Haruno please."

The receptionist took a schedule from a drawer behind the counter and opened it up. Her finger moved down the list while she was scanning it. "Ah, here we are," she said, "you guys are in room number seven. There are changing rooms to the right once you go in. There are also towels and robes waiting for you. Please enjoy your stay."

"Alright!" Naruto cheered. He was about to bolt in when Kiba caught him by the collar of his orange jacket, causing him to gag. "What the heck was that for?!"

"Jeez, I can't take my eyes off of you for a second." Kiba told him, "Let Hinata go in first! It's her birthday, not yours!" He let go of Naruto's collar.

Naruto, glaring evilly at Kiba, quickly composed himself and stood aside, giving me passage to walk through first. "Oh, that's okay, Kiba," I said, flattered and embarrassed, "It doesn't matter who goes first…"

"C'mon," Anaghia pushed me forward, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about!"

Oddly enough, I allowed her to keep pushing me. It was only because everyone would gang up on me, six to one, and eventually force me to go in.

When we went in, I felt my jaw drop in awe. I felt refreshed already, looking at the steam rising off of the glass smooth surface of the water. Just as I had thought, there was a giant wooden wall in the center of the hot spring. It extended upward, just high enough so that it almost touched the ceiling, but not quite. And I assumed that the walls were chakra resistant, so any potential perverts wouldn't be tempted.

Sakura, Anaghia, and I headed to the door marked as the women's restroom. "Hey, how are we supposed to get to our part of the hot spring?" Naruto yelled after us.

"You guys are going to have to go around." Sakura called back, a smile in her voice as Naruto groaned.

When we walked into the restroom, we immediately spotted three plushy white robes, one for each of us. We quickly pulled off our clothes and put them on, along with the special navy blue swimsuits that were included with them for the hot spring, just in case we forgot to bring our own. Then we each tied up our hair, grabbed a towel, and headed back out.

I cautiously dipped one toe into the water. It felt perfect. I took the robe off and got in, slowly adjusting to the temperature.

The three of us relaxed. It was so peaceful. I didn't have to worry about him for the day. I could just enjoy myself in this tranquil, quiet…

"CANNONBALL!" Naruto screamed.

I shrieked from surprise as I heard the water hit the wall from the other side. So much for quiet.

"YOU IDIOT!" Kiba yelled.

Sakura swam over to the wall and banged on it. "KNOCK IT OFF! WE'RE TRYING TO GIVE HINATA A GOOD BIRTHDAY, NOT A MIGRAINE AND A TICKET TO GET US ALL KICKED OUT!!"

Silence followed. I cringed as she swam back over. "There, that's better." she said, smiling at me.

"T-thanks, Sakura," I said, my voice cracking a little.

I laid my head back on the edge of the water hole and closed my eyes. I had to admit, even though I didn't want any presents for my birthday, this was the best one I could imagine. It was a multipurpose-type of present. First off, it allowed me to relax. Second, I might be able to get some more sleep tonight without Sasuke's assistance. And--I'm not sure how many times I'm going to say this--it gives me time away from those eyes. I can't go over that small fact enough.

***

I felt the time slip by. I didn't know where it went, but it went too quickly.

"Okay, I'm getting out now," Sakura announced. She climbed out of the water, wrapped her towel around herself, and walked off towards the restroom.

I opened my eyes. I saw that Anna was staring at me. Her head was only partly submerged, only up to the bridge of her nose. Her brown eyes couldn't penetrate my own like Sasuke's could, but they did, nevertheless. She gazed at me intently. "What?" I asked her, "Do you want to get out too?"

She gurgled in response. "Is that a 'yes' or a 'no'?" I asked.

She pulled her head out of the water with a gasp for air. "That was a 'yes'. Isn't your skin getting pruned yet?"

I pulled my fingers out of the water and looked down at them. They looked like little raisins. "I guess it couldn't hurt to get out now," I said, "but you can go on ahead. I'll be another few minutes."

"Alright," Anaghia said, climbing out. "Just don't take too long, okay? We don't want you looking like a prune when-" She stopped herself.

I gave her an accusatory look. "'When'?"

She wrapped her towel around herself quickly, avoiding eye contact. "Nothing, forget I said anything." She made her way towards the restroom, but I could have sworn that I saw an evil grin creep up on her face. I closed my eyes again and tried to ignore my curiosity.

***

Finally, I got out. I was reluctant to do so, but I wanted to find out what was going to happen.

I followed suit of the other two girls and walked to the restroom. When I walked in, I noticed that all of their stuff was gone. Did they ditch me? I wondered. I sighed and gathered up my clothes, when I heard something fall to the floor. I jumped a little from the sudden noise. I looked down to see a little black box with a note attached to it. I picked them up and opened the note, since it's best to read the card first, plus I was curious to see who gave this to me.

Hinata, it read, I thought you'd like this. I was going to give it to you in person, when you were alone, but I figured that this is okay for now. Happy Birthday, A Friend.

I opened the lid on the box. I gasped. Inside it, the small, silver, heart-shaped locket that I had eyed yesterday in the shopping district. I took it out of the box. It was beautiful. I opened it up to look inside. Sure enough, there was something in it. It wasn't a picture, but a little signature. To Hinata, a person very special to me.

I got dressed, put the necklace on, and looked at myself in the mirror. It looked good against my purple jacket. It also distracted wandering eyes from the circles under my eyes, which were starting to disappear. Even though I was overly curious about who this came from, I couldn't help but smile for some reason. I left the restroom and went back out to the lobby, even more curious to see what Anaghia was up to.

A/N: Who done it? What the heck am I up to now?? And why am I asking you all of these questions??? I'll update more soon so you can find out the answers!