Disclaimer: We are not Masashi Kishimoto, so we don't own Naruto Shippuden.
Banana: Everything Japanese is so cute! :D
Sammay: I don't know what to say, so... uh... let the chapter begin...?
Chapter Three
Kiba's head perked up as soon as she yelled out those words. Running towards the door with a grin on his face, he shouted, "I'm so in!"
Lazily lifting his head from the table, Shikamaru regarded Savanna with heavy-lidded eyes. "Is there a hot tub?"
Uhh. Sure! "Yep!" Savanna excitedly replied. "Come on... Why don't you get some fresh air? The weather's perfect." As she let go of Naruto's wrist, said person and Kiba raced each other to the door and disappeared outside, whooping the entire time.
Lee let out a cry of despair. "No! I will not let Naruto and Kiba beat me into the pool!" Jumping off of the Dance Dance Revolution board, he zipped out the back door.
"C'mon, Shikamaru!" Choji begged. "Let's go swimming... We brought our swimsuits, anyway. At least just go in the hot tub."
After a few seconds, Shikamaru sighed and rose from the table. "Well, only for a little bit..."
How did she know that I didn't believe her? wondered Neji. Everyone tells me that I can keep the blankest expression. "Alright," he consented.
Giving Neji and Sammy a knowing look, Savanna quickly followed Lee's footsteps out the door and into the backyard, taking off her clothes in he process so she could swim with her blue tankini underneath.
Choji cheered and dragged the sleepy Shikamaru out the back door after all of the others. Sai followed them awkwardly.
"Did I just hear...pool?" Ino whispered as she searched the upstairs area. She smiled brightly and bolted down the staircase, right past the bored Sasuke. "I wonder if Sasukeeee will be out there!" The blonde threw open the door and ran outside, taking her clothes off in the process, and eventually so she was only wearing a bright pink bikini. "Ohh, Sasukeeee! I'm here! And Sakura's not! Where are you?"
"Yeah! Yeah!" Naruto chanted after changing out of his orange jumpsuit. Kiba had done the same, and both of them were just standing there, chanting, waiting for Savanna to be ready to swim.
Sammy laughed. "Because... I know a lot." She smiled, already revealing that she could somehow read minds by just saying that simple statement. "Anyway, let's go outside." She, just because he couldn't help herself anymore, grabbed Neji's hand and tugged him outside. When she did so, she inwardly screamed her head off, but she still kept her calm and laid-back expression. Once the two stepped outside, Sammy reluctantly dropped Neji's hand and stripped down to reveal a simple purple one-piece, tied at the neck.
Tenten and Hinata also walked out, already wearing their swimsuits. They must've gone somewhere to change, Sammy thought. Or something like that. I don't know.
Savanna almost stopped mid-step when her emerald eyes rested on Naruto and Kiba. Sure, she had seen Naruto shirtless many times before, but that didn't stop her from admiring the way his lean body looked. And that only worsened when she looked at Kiba, because she had never seen Kiba without a shirt on in the anime. The fact that she basically had a crush on them didn't help at all.
Trying to hide her blush, she changed the direction of her stride so she was walking toward the hot tub instead of towards the two boys. Phew... That was risky, Savanna thought. I was dangerously close to fangirling. Like, fangirling out loud. I'm still really close, but I think I can control myself...
A few seconds later, she turned her head to the right when the sound of a nearby splash interrupted her thoughts. Naruto had hopped into the hot tub after seeing that Savanna was heading towards there. No, it definitely did not help Savanna calm down when she met his vibrant blue eyes, his cute grin...
When Sammy said that she knew a lot, Neji just assumed that she could read through his expressionless mask that one time. I was unusually caught off guard, Neji thought. My feelings of confusion probably leaked into my countenance... That's all.
While he was contemplating, he absentmindedly took off his Hyuga clan robe, showing a pair of gray trunks underneath. Observing the backyard, he wondered if he should go in the pool or the hot tub initially. Noting that the weather was kind of warm, he settled for going in the pool firstly. Besides... Hinata and Tenten were already swimming in the cool water, chasing each other and giggling.
Inside, Sasuke wondered if Ino could get any more stupid. Ino kept on giving away her location to him when it was very, very obvious that he showed a string dislike towards her. So, naturally, he was going to stay away. Tch... Only Ino and Sakura would do that, he thought. Sasuke definitely did not want to go outside, so he stuck with wandering around Savanna's house until Ino came back inside.
Sammy gazed at Neji for a moment before forcing herself to stop. She spun around and caught up with Savanna. "I... I will die here," she whispered, her cheeks a light shade of pink. "I will die here. Of happiness and love and fangirling."
Naruto smiled at Savanna once they made eye contact, and right as Sammy walked up to her. Kiba settled in the hot tub as well, following Naruto's actions and for the same reason.
"I've always liked hot tubs," he stated with a crooked smile. Naruto shot him a look, not wanting him to take his crush away from him.
Sasuke glanced around the foyer for a second or two and then decided to go upstairs. He stepped up each stair cautiously, knowing that Ino could be coming inside as he did so.
"Sasukeee! Where is he?" said person asked no one in particular. Choji sent her a look from a few feet away.
"Trying to get away from you," he answered with an eye roll. "He doesn't like you."
"Of course he likes me," Ino grinned. "I wouldn't be chasing after him if I knew he didn't like me."
Choji and Shikamaru both face-palmed. "Are you kidding? Are you that dumb?" the lazy Nara said exasperatedly. "He's told you before, and you never listen!"
Ino flipped her ponytail, still ignoring that comment- it was like it passed through deaf ears. "He's trying to deny it, but I know he can't resist my natural beauty... I can just tell with these sort of things!"
What natural beauty? thought Shikamaru. And what part of Sasuke's behavior somehow makes her think that he likes her?... Whatever. It's Ino.
Finally reaching the top of the stairs, Sasuke's feet softly padded on the carpet as he wandered into Savanna's bedroom. Watching the sunlight from the window stream into the room, he noted that it wasn't like any room he had seen before... It was styled differently. How strange, he thought.
Testing the temperature of the pool's water with his foot, Neji lowered himself into the cool water when he deemed it warm enough for his liking. He didn't get to relax for long, however- Tenten immediately swam up to him, pulling Hinata along the way.
"Neji, let's play a game!"
"It depends," he decided. "What game?"
Tenten's brown eyes gleamed with excitement. "It's pretty simple... Just try to catch me and Hinata. It's just tag."
Neji slightly smiled. "Alright. But I'm warning you... I won't go easy."
Tenten's grin grew. "Why would I want you to go easy on me? I want a challenge! You're still not going to win against us, anyway."
Hinata's breathing caught for a fraction of a second. "W-Wait... I'm playing, too?"
"Of course," Tenten replied to her like it was a given. "You're an amazing swimmer, Hinata. You'd totally beat Neji."
"Oh... I don't know..." She tentatively trailed off.
In the hot tub, Savanna was about to scream.
With happiness, of course.
I'm going to die of happiness and love and fangirling, too, she thought. This is too great. It's too perfect... This can't be happening! As she admired Kiba's attractive lopsided grin, her cheeks felt warm after a few seconds. "I do, too," she murmured, barely conscious of what she was saying.
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Hot tubs are great," he smiled. "What should we do in here?"
Kiba shot him a look. "Naruto. You can't really do much in a hot tub," he pointed out. "Hot tubs aren't pools... You can't even swim in them."
"Well, excuse me," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "I was trying to make this fun, but you went ahead and ruined it. Nice going, Kiba."
"Shut up."
"No."
Tenten sent Hinata a bright smile. "Don't worry, Hinata! You'll do fine! It'll be fun," she winked. "And besides... It's just for fun, too."
Hinata smiled nervously back. Neji will definitely beat me, she thought uneasily. "O-Okay..." she replied, glancing at the two shyly.
Sasuke turned the knob of the closet door and pulled it open, staring inside with a raised eyebrow. She has... Interesting clothing, he thought to himself while eyeing a sparkly blue miniskirt. I've never seen any girl wear something like that.
Sammy stared at nothing, really, the image of everything stuck in her mind. Part of her still couldn't believe that she was actually in the Naruto world. She glanced around at everyone and smiled slightly. Everything was so real, so vivid... She didn't know how it was possible, but it was true.
"That's the spirit," encouraged Tenten. "Okay, Neji. Try to get both of us. Ready... Set... Go!" As soon as she said the last word, she and Hinata dove underwater, disappearing from sight.
Activating his Byakugan, Neji followed their suit. He easily spotted them at the bottom of the deep end a few seconds later.
Savanna sighed, running a hand through her long brown locks. Seriously. It was inevitable that Naruto and Kiba were eventually going to fight, but right now? In the hot tub? She had always found it at least a little amusing, though...
Kiba leaned towards Naruto, a slight snarl revealing one of his sharp incisors. "What did you say?"
Naruto also leaned towards Kiba, making Savanna feel awkward, for she was situated between them. "I said NO... You can't make me shut up."
"You wanna bet?" Kiba challenged.
At this point, Savanna was about to leave the hot tub if it wasn't for Shikamaru who cleared his throat behind the trio. Whipping around, Naruto asked, "What do you want, Shikamaru?"
Despite Naruto's harsh tone, Shikamaru's visage remained lazy and uncaring. "I only came outside so I could use the hot tub. Mind making room for me and Choji?" He gestured to the Akimichi standing to the side of him.
When he heard Shikamaru's request, a mischievous look formed in Naruto's blue eyes. His frown morphing into a smirk, he formed a hand sign and said, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Suddenly, fifty Naruto clones were conjured seemingly from mid-air, filling up the entire hot tub. As a result, Savanna became squished against Kiba and many of the Naruto's. It almost seemed like bait for the fangirl within her... Her face was only inches from his, and she could feel his smooth skin where she was pressed up against him- which was basically everywhere because of the Naruto clones filling up the hot tub. I-I feel like... Squealing, she thought. I'm so close to them. SO CLOSE. Oh my gosh... I'm touching Kiba and Naruto(s)! Trying extremely hard not to scream, Savanna blushed again and smiled.
Sammy was sucked out of her own world once Naruto... and a lot more were shoved into her face. "Hello, Naruto..." she laughed.
The Naruto that was right in front of her smiled as well. "Hey! Now Shikamaru and Choji can't come in!"
Shikamaru scowled, but didn't want to waste his time fighting with the impossible Naruto. "Idiot," he muttered, turning to face Choji.
"Let's just go in the pool," Choji suggested, and Shikamaru just narrowed his eyes to small slits. It looked as if he didn't want to do so, but Choji dragged him away from the hot tub anyway.
All of the Naruto's cackled and pointed towards Shikamaru. "Sorry, buddy!" one of them called out. "There isn't any room for you or Choji in here!"
Kiba smiled at Savanna. "Well, isn't this fun?" he asked with a chuckle and a smirk. A Naruto overheard the flirty comment and shot his gaze towards Kiba. All of the others followed his actions, and their suspicions were answered once they saw Kiba so close to her.
"You better not pull anything," one grumbled darkly.
"It's your fault you pushed me towards her," Kiba retorted. "But I don't really mind."
Every Naruto started yelling at Kiba in disgrace. "Get away from her! She's mine! Stop! Move!"
Hinata saw Neji swimming towards them and also noticed that his Byakugan was activated. She almost gasped and activated hers also, swimming away in the process.
Shutting the closet door, Sasuke wandered over to Savanna's Akatsuki sheet bedspread. How did I not notice this before? He wondered. He froze when he heard the slam of a door and Ino's voice, now much louder and clearer, following soon after. "Sasukeeeee..." She trailed off in a creepy tone. "You won't be able to hide from me foreverrr..."
Tenten couldn't see as clearly underwater because she didn't have a Byakugan, so Neji easily caught up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. Once she resurfaced, she sad, "Aw, man."
Leaving only Hinata, Neji started swimming after her. Letting out a little squeak, a plan started to form in her mind. I wonder, she thought. Would a Jutsu work underwater?
Savanna tried to gain control of her extensive blushing, but it wasn't really working. Naruto and Kiba... are fighting over me... she thought. Just like in my old fanfiction... I don't know how I should feel!
Eventually, one of Naruto's clones grabbed Kiba and started pushing him around in the little space he had (which was basically none). A few more joined in when they noticed Kiba's annoyance.
Kiba's smirk quickly disappeared. "Dude!" he exclaimed. "Let go of me! I'm not doing anything to her."
"You're thinking about it!" one clone cried out, and all of the others joined in with the same point. Kiba managed to punch a few of them, causing them to disappear in a puff of smoke.
"Hey! You can't just kill one of-"
"...one of me!" another clone finished for the other, and the Naruto's fought harder.
Sammy tried not to laugh as she watched the scene, still surrounded by doppelgängers. She did feel bad for Kiba, but everything that happened in this world made her want to jump for joy. She smiled to herself and suddenly wondered if she could pull off any Jutsu period as she happened to read Hinata's mind.
Neji's getting closer, said ninja thought, continuing to swim away from her cousin. What Jutsu could I complete under here anyway? She thought and thought about what she could pull of for a number of seconds before a Jutsu came to mind.
Sasuke panicked silently as he heard Ino's footsteps come up the staircase slowly. He searched the room for a hiding place and eventually decided on diving under the bed for safety. Right as he did so, Ini crept into the room.
"Sasukeeee... I know your scent, and it's definitely in here..." she murmured creepily, her aqua eyes searching the room. "We'll be reunited very, very soon..."
Sasuke caught his breath as he listened to Ino. He nearly rolled his eyes in disgust. She's pathetic, he thought to himself. As the seconds ticked by, Ino seemed to search everywhere except for under the bed, and something caught Sasuke's eye. Is that... a poster of Naruto?
As Sasuke very carefully unrolled that particular poster that caught his attention without making any noise, his suspicions were confirmed. Naruto was, in fact, on the poster, posing with a grin and a thumbs-up. Scrutinizing the poster, Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Naruto doesn't hide anything from me, he thought. And if he did, he certainly wouldn't keep something like this a secret. He's a... model?
Ino sniffed. "I don't get it," she said frustratedly. "I can smell you, Sasuke! You're definitely in here!" Making her way to the closet, she slid open the doors and peered inside, taking in the sight of millions of clothes. "Oooohh... You must be hiding in there."
Meanwhile, Neji was only about a foot away from Hinata. Mentally freaking out, Hinata quickly thought of a random Jutsu. Since she couldn't speak underwater, Hinata thought, Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!
Fortunately, it seemed to work. When she thrusted her right palm towards Neji, a wave of chakra simultaneously formed from her palm and slammed into said person, sending him flying backwards. Silently cheering, she took advantage of his stunned state to swim farther away.
Shikamaru, who was now standing at the edge of the pool with Choji, did a double take. "What the heck...? There are sudden waves along the surface of the pool. Look, Choji."
Choji's eyes follwed Shikamaru's finger. "Uh... Why's that? Was there an explosion under the water or something?"
"Of course not," replied Shikamaru. "I can see two figures down there... I think it's best if we don't get in right now."
Reading Sammy's mind, Savanna wholeheartedly agreed with her. I totally get you, Sammay, she thought. Everything in this world fills me with happiness, too. I'm so glad we came here... I don't ever want to leave. She was still pressed against Kiba, so she turned around until her face was only inches from his. Even thought their proximity gave her a mini heart attack, Savanna forced herself to speak.
"It's okay, Kiba," she said. "Stop fighting." When she ran those words in her head, she realized that she probably sounded incredibly stupid.
Kiba was currently fending off a few Naruto's with his two arms. "I know it's okay, but Naruto doesn't!" He grunted as he shoved a few more off of him.
Savanna sighed and rephrased her statement. "Naruto, it's okay," she repeated. "Stop fighting."
All of the Naruto's froze and looked at Savanna. Each one disappeared with a poof except for the real one. He smiled at the brown-haired girl.
"Anything for you, Savanna." He grinned and then sat down again on the other side of Savanna. Sammy was already sitting next to her, but she scooted over to make room for Naruto anyway. She started playing with her long hair; only the tips were wet. I wanna scream. Right now, she thought, replying to her cousin's telepathic thought. A lot.
Neji floated there, stunned. Had Hinata really done that? He shook his head and snapped out of his trance, resurfacing to get a quick breath of air. The sudden Jutsu surprised him and knocked all of the air he had out of him as well.
Hinata watched Neji as he began swimming towards the surface. She mirrored his movements and arrived above the water in moments.
"I think I know who those two figures were," Shikamaru said sarcastically. Choji turned his gaze from the food table through the window to what Shikamaru had pointed out. He laughed.
"Yep," the ninja replied. "Maybe we can get in soon. It looks like they might be finished with their game. Or, maybe they'll be done soon."
Overhearing Shikamaru's comment, Hinata smiled nervously and nodded. "Y-Yes, Neji... Let's stop the game so Shikamaru and Choji can come in."
Neji knew Hinata like the back of his hand due to them being close cousins, so he also knew that she was only cutting off the game of tag because she felt compassion for Shikamaru and Choji (and everyone else); it wasn't because she wanted to win. "Alright," he consented.
"Yes!" Choji exclaimed. Immediately, he jumped in the pool, screaming, "CANNONBALL!"
As soon as his body connected with the pool, the cold water sprayed everywhere because of the impact, splashing everyone present in the backyard. Slowly, Shikamaru raised his arm, sighed, and wiped the water off of his face. What a drag, he thought.
Savanna yelped in surprise when the cold water from the pool touched her warmed skin, but that didn't distract her much from her deep thinking. Naruto just said he would do anything for me, she thought. Her mind tried to grasp that fact, but it seemed to be slipping between her fingers; she was still trying to accept the truth that the Naruto world was actually a reality. Oddly enough, she finally regained control of her absurd blushing despite Naruto's comment.
"Finally," Kiba said with a disapproving scowl. "Naruto was overreacting, as usual..."
Kiba spoke quietly, so Naruto couldn't quite pick up on the words he muttered. "What did you say, Kiba?"
Kiba smirked. "Oh, nothing."
I bet Naruto and Kiba couldn't go without fighting for a single day, Savanna thought, laughing softly. A few seconds later, her eyes shifted to Sai sitting awkwardly (everything he did seemed to exhibit an awkward feel for some reason) in one of the chairs on the patio, regarding the scenery. "Hey, Sai!" she called out. His head turned towards her when she grabbed his attention, his expression calm.
"Yes?"
"You look like you're bored. Why don't you come into the hot tub?"
Sai averted his eyes in one of those rare occasions when he seemed almost tentative to speak. "I think I'll pass," he declined. "Hot tubs aren't to my liking..."
When Sasuke observed Ino disappearing into Savanna's labyrinth of a closet, he slumped to the carpet in relief. Up until now, he had been really rigid and tense just by thinking of being discovered by the lovesick Ino. If Sakura was here with Ino, they would at least be arguing often enough for Sasuke to slip away for (hopefully) long periods of time...
As Ino just about ransacked Savanna's closet looking for Sasuke, he carefully slithered out from under the bed and managed to hightail it out of the room. She somehow didn't notice his presence or his 'scent' leaving the room, since she continued to toss shirts and other clothing items behind her. Sasuke continuously ran swiftly until he reached the backyard and then slumped against the door in relief.
Sammy eyed the two boys in the hot tub, who were gazing at her cousin. She felt awkward and shifted in her seat, blowing on a strand of her hair, attempting to make it dry again after Choji's splash to pass the time. As a few seconds more passed, she just felt awkward sitting next to Naruto Uzumaki instead and moved so she was sitting across from the three instead of next to them.
Naruto and Kiba weren't paying attention to the quiet blonde. They sat there ogling at Savanna instead. "Your eyes are an amazing shade of green," Kiba complimented.
"I think her hair color is beautiful, too," Naruto challenged.
Kiba narrowed his eyes at the Uzumaki. "I think she has a great taste in swimsuits."
"I think everything about her is amazing!"
The argument continued on from there. It wasn't hard to imagine... two boys fighting over a girl? It had been seen before.
Shikamaru decided to not follow the footsteps of his friend and stepped into the pool through the ladder instead. Hopefully it doesn't get too rowdy in here, he thought. I'm not in the mood for that.
When Sasuke's breathing rate lowered, he carefully stood up and observed the area for any signs of Ino. She was still turning over everything in Savanna's closet, so Sasuke luckily couldn't detect anything. However, he did notice everyone either in the hot tub or the swimming pool (with the exception of Sai, but that was Sai), so he took off his clothes and revealed himself in a pair of black trunks. I might as well try to relax while I can, he thought. He felt hot from running away from Ino for the majority of the day, so he made his way over to the swimming pool and slowly lowered himself into the cool water.
Savanna couldn't suppress her feelings any longer.
She felt like she was going to explode.
All her life, she had been loving Naruto and Kiba. Even though they weren't her favorite characters, even her least favorite guy character would give her butterflies just from her seeing him. So when the two shinobi started arguing about her so-called "flawlessness", it felt like a dream-come-true. Somehow, they were fighting although they were on the same side. For who knows how long, she had been imagining about them liking her, loving her...
So basically, if Savanna wasn't going to let anything out right now, she was going to go crazy.
Quickly covering her face with her hands, she prepared herself for the slight burning that would soon occur. Not wasting any time, she dunked herself under the boiling water and let out a faint squeal. As soon as her fangirling was out of her system, she resurfaced and returned to her former position. Phew... That was close, she thought. I can be so pathetic sometimes...
Eyeing Savanna, Naruto jokingly asked, "What was that for? It hurts to do that!"
Savanna shrugged. "I don't know... I was curious as to what that would feel like. Yeah... It did hurt."
"Especially if you go under for a long time," added Kiba.
Savanna noticed and felt Sammy sitting uncomfortably across from them, so she stood up. "How about we play a game in the pool?" she suggested. "It's called Chicken, and it's really fun."
Sammy blinked at Savanna. She knew how to play Chicken, of course... but who would her partner be? "Okay. I love that game," she replied, standing up also. They would figure out partners later.
Naruto stared at the two, looking confused. "What's Chicken? How do you play it?" he asked, standing up as well. Kiba stood up after him and waited for someone to answer. He would play anything Savanna suggested, because anything she suggested would clearly be fun.
"Savanna will be able to explain it better then I can," Sammy said with a shrug, looking from Naruto and Kiba to Savanna. "So go ahead, Banana, dear."
Choji confirmed his thoughts. He was sure he heard someone say chicken. "Chicken?!" he rejoiced, glancing around the backyard to see who had sad the amazing word.
Hinata sat in the corner of the pool and motioned for Tenten to walk over and join her. She did as she was told and stood next to Hinata in the pool, glancing around at everyone who stood, swam or sat in the backyard. She noted that the people in the hot tub looked as if they were planning something.
While Ino threw Savanna's clothes every which way and that inside of her closet, she suddenly came across said person's collection of bras. And by collection, that means there were hundreds of pairs.
Ino suddenly stopped in her tracks and marveled at the vast majority. "Ooooohhh," she breathed. "These... These are so... cute!"
Sai felt like he was baking in the sun from being exposed outside for so long, so he walked over to the swimming pool and waded in. He noticed Sasuke stiffly standing in the shallow end with his arms folded, so he swam over to him. "Sasuke?" he inquired. "What's the point of getting in the pool if you're not going to do anything?"
Ugh, Sasuke thought. That annoying guy is talking to me. He's so unusual. He shrugged. "I'm staying away from a certain someone... That's all."
Savanna mentally laughed as she repeated her cousin's words in her head. Banana, dear? "Alright, if you say so," she said. "So... Chicken is a game played in the shallow end of the pool. You team up with a partner, and then one person gets on the other's shoulders. When the person on the bottom stands up, the person on the top has to push all of the other people off their partner's shoulders to win. It's pretty simple, but it's really fun."
Sammy nodded in agreement. "She's right... it's super fun."
"I call being partners with Savanna!" Naruto smiled, putting his hands on his hips, proud of beating Kiba.
"You can't just call someone as a partner!" Kiba objected, and it was clear that he wanted Savanna as a partner just as much as Naruto did. "What if Savanna doesn't want to be partners with you?!"
Naruto laughed, almost sounding mockingly... but, yet again, it probably was meant to be. "She probably does," he answered with a shrug.
"Probably not," Kiba glared. "She definitely wants to be partners with me, don't you, Savanna?"
"No, she doesn't! Savanna! Tell him that you don't want to be partners with him, but that you want to be partners with me!" Naruto argued, and both of them turned to look at Savanna, still yelling at each other over who she would want as a partner.
Sammy smiled at the two fighting and stepped out of the tub, quickly making her way towards the pool. She knew the water would be freezing after being in the hot tub, so she braced herself for the worst and hopped into the water. A yelp escaped her mouth as she did so.
Sai nodded. "I understand. Is it Ino you're hiding from?"
Sasuke wasn't in the mood to answer questions, but he kept his cool and closed his eyes. "Yeah."
Ino, who was too busy to overhear Sai and Sasuke's conversation outside with her excellent ears, continued to marvel at the hundreds of bras that sat in front of her. She giggled at the greatness of it all and then continued to search through the closet, excitedly finding more and more color sorted bras.
"I wonder," she mused to herself. "Savanna surely wouldn't notice if I took one of these, right?" Ino paused for a second, a sudden thought popping into her head. "What if... What if they're not my size?"
Oh, no, Savanna thought. I want to be partners with both of them, but of course, that's not really possible, is it? She felt like squealing again, but she had just let out a lot of fangirling a moment ago, so she could barely control herself this time.
"I would like to be partners with both of you," she decided, "but I'm choosing Naruto because he asked first." Even though he didn't really ask me, she added in her mind.
Naruto barked out a laugh and jabbed his pointer finger at Kiba. "Ha! That's just her way of telling you that she totally wants to be paired up with me!"
Kiba's eyes reverted to white circles. "No way! She's trying to be fair because she's just that nice of a person! I bet she really wants to have me as a partner."
Savanna sighed, mentally rolling around. "Guys, it's just a game. Let's just go have fun, okay?"
Immediately agreeing, Naruto jumped out of the hot tub and sprinted over to the pool, where he close to threw himself in the water. Grumbling, Kiba followed his suit while Savanna trailed behind them, having strong urges to jump around in place.
Neji's light gray eyes followed Sammay when she jumped into the pool. It's that pretty blonde again, he thought. Without consciously deciding to move, he automatically swam over to her when she resurfaced from her leap.
Observing Naruto and Kiba diving into the pool, he questioned, "What's going on, Sammy? Are Naruto and Kiba planning something?"
Sammy turned her attention towards the boy, still getting used to the cold water. "Oh. Um. No... they both wanted to be Bana—Savanna's partner for Chicken."
When Neji looked at her with a questioning look, she realized that he didn't know what Chicken was, nor did he know that they were going to play. Jeez, she thought, a blush forming on her cheeks. I've barely said anything to him and I'm already making a fool of myself... "Oh... you don't know what Chicken is...it's a game where teams of two pair up. One sits on the other's shoulders, and you try to knock down the other teams... um. Does that make sense? You play it at the shallow end, of course..."
Ino smirked. "Well, there's only one way to find out!"
Since she was wearing a bikini, she figured it wouldn't hurt to just try on the bra over it. And that's what she did. She picked up a pink bra and tried it on.
"It fits on perfectly! It's a little tight, but that's probably a good sign since I'm wearing my bikini top under it!" Ino cheered. "Savanna hopefully isn't one to get mad if someone takes her bras..."
"Are you all ready to play?!" Naruto cried, pumping his fists. Kiba glared at him from a few feet away. I'm so much better than Naruto, he thought. How could Savanna choose him over me? I don't get it.
Sasuke and Sai turned their attention towards the screaming Uzumaki across the pool. Sai wondered what could possibly be going on over there to cause Naruto to react so ecstatically. Sasuke simply rolled his onyx eyes. Naruto's such a loser, he thought.
Savanna couldn't help but giggle at Naruto's enthusiasm. After reading Kiba's mind, however, she felt a little pang of guilt. "Yeah!" she exclaimed, hiding her minor feelings of regret.
Wading over to Savanna after her response, Naruto flashed a grin. "Come on," he urged. "Get on my shoulders."
"Right now?"
"Of course," Naruto replied. He made it sound like that was the obvious thing to do. "It's nice to be prepared."
Savanna didn't even have to listen to Naruto's thoughts to infer what his true intention was. Without waiting for her reply, Naruto disappeared under the water and waited for her to sit on his shoulders.
Hesitantly, Savanna moved towards the submerged ninja. A small part of her worried that Naruto would disappear if she touched him, but the other part immediately rejected that idea. It's too long and vivid to be just a wonderful dream, Savanna tried reminding herself as she lowered herself onto Naruto's shoulders.
When Naruto closed his warm fingers around her calves and resumed his original position of standing upright, Savanna became absolutely positive that he- this world- was definitely real. She did rest her hand on Naruto's body earlier, but she barely applied any pressure and it was only for a brief period of time. Now that was literally sitting on him, she marveled again at how real he felt.
Savanna couldn't help herself, so she placed her hands in his spiky and surprisingly soft blonde hair, ruffling it a bit. "This is fun!"
A diabolical plan formed in Kiba's mind as a sadistic smirk made its way onto his face. Once I find a partner, I'm only going to go for Savanna and Naruto, he decided.
Watching the scene, Tenten sprang up from her resting place and ran over to the shallow end, skidding to a halt. "Oooh! I want to play!" she eagerly called out.
Neji regarded Naruto with an exasperated expression. "I understand," he said. "Of course Naruto would play. If anyone would play, it would be him." Suddenly, a strange emotion came over him. It was almost like... like... a subtle feeling of... well, he couldn't quite describe it yet. Instead, he followed what felt like the right thing to do. Letting the words from his instincts flow out, Neji asked the pretty blonde, "...Do you need a partner?"
Did he really just ask me that? she thought, inwardly just about screaming her head off with excitement. It was so unbelievably hard to contain her feelings, and it especially was in this world she had somehow gotten sucked into. "Yes... but you don't have to if you don't want to play," she assured him, not wanting to make it seem like he had to be her partner, despite the fact that she wanted him to be so badly.
The last puzzle piece fit perfectly into Kiba's plan once Tenten had declared her desire to be a part of the game as well. "I'll be your partner, Tenten," he called out, and Tenten smiled and nodded while slipping into the water along with everyone else.
"Sai, Sasuke!" Naruto waved at them, but only letting go of Savanna for a split second. "You should play, too! It's going to be really fun, even though Savanna and I are definitely going to win!"
Sasuke glared. "There's not a chance I'm playing."
Sai stood in the pool awkwardly, yet again. He, of course, wasn't quite sure on how to react in this situation, so he ended up not saying anything at all.
"Come on! It'll be fun, and we only have three teams playing! Sammy's playing, too, right?" Naruto asked no one in particular. "Maybe I'll have to make some shadow clones to play with us."
More Naruto's? Savanna thought. I could barely stand the hot tub thing... If I played Chicken against his shadow clones, I would probably be too happy to actually concentrate on winning. "Please, Sasuke," she pleaded. "I'm the one that even suggested this game. It's really fun... You should at least try it."
Sasuke stopped glaring at Naruto, his eyes shifting up to Savanna's. "What's the point?"
"To have fun," Savanna answered. Sasuke needs to stop being such a party pooper, she thought. When she averted her gaze to the awkward Sai, a small smile played on the corners of her lips. "And Sai... You should play and be Sasuke's partner. Don't you want to prove that Naruto has no balls?" She winked.
"HEY!" Naruto shouted, his cheeks turning a bright shade of crimson.
Sai chuckled and put on his fake smile. "On second thought, I do want to play this game now."
Sasuke muttered, "Well, I still don't want to take part in this."
"You never know unless you try," Savanna pointed out.
Naruto recovered from Savanna's comment and quickly nodded his head. "Yeah! If you don't play, I'm gonna make as many shadow clones of myself as I can so we can have the most amount of fun possible!" Knowing fully well that Sasuke's number-three pet peeve was a multiple number of Naruto's (number one was Sakura and number two was Ino), Naruto smirked.
Crap, Sasuke thought as he narrowed his eyes at the triumphant shinobi. It'll be even more annoying than joining the game if there's more than one Naruto. After a long pause, he sighed. "Fine," he consented.
Naruto pumped his fist again, loosing his balance for a couple of seconds. Savanna gasped and automatically fastened her fingers to his blonde hair even though she was aware that it wasn't going to help her if he actually did fall. "Careful, Naruto," she warned.
After Kiba allowed Tenten to position herself on his shoulders, he explained his scheme to her. "Here's the plan," he started out. "Let's only go for Naruto and Savanna, Tenten. Naruto's been acting like a totally jerk lately, and I want to show him who's boss."
Tenten laughed at Kiba's hatred. "Alright, then... I'm down for anything!"
It looks like she really wants to play, Neji observed. I can see it in her facial expression. "I don't mind," he affirmed. "It seems like an interesting game. Shall we?" He motioned to the people congregating in the shallow end of the pool.
Sammy nodded and swam into the shallow end. Once she emerged from the water, Neji resurfaced right beside her, but only to submerge himself back into the water so she could be able to sit on his shoulders. She then gingerly placed herself upon him and automatically hoped she wasn't too heavy as he stood up completely.
Sasuke sighed and let Sai sit on his shoulders. "Why did I agree to this again?" Sasuke asked himself, already blocking out the fact that Naruto would make shadow clones with the fact that having Sai sit on his shoulders was not only uncomfortable, but also awkward.
"I would never let you fall," Naruto smiled, holding Savanna's ankles tighter. "If I did that, I would never forgive myself... even though we're in a pool." A laugh followed after his statement.
Kiba glared at Naruto. He was definitely aware of his words, so he quickly tried to distract them by changing the subject. "Alright! Are we ready to play, or does anyone else want to play?!"
Suddenly, shattering glass could be heard, followed by a large splash in the pool. Sammy naturally wrapped her arms around Neji's neck quickly to try and save herself from whatever had caused the loud and unexpected crash.
Lee poked his head out from the water and smiled, shooting a thumbs-up towards everyone. "I am here to play Chicken! Sorry about your window, Savanna!"
Everyone looked towards the spot where Lee had suddenly appeared from and concluded that he burst out through the window.
"Lee is so troublesome," Shikamaru mumbled, climbing out from the pool and sitting on a chair. "Everyone here is so troublesome."
"Where were you this whole time, Lee?!" Naruto asked, confused. "Everyone else has been out here... EXCEPT FOR YOU!"
Lee shrugged. "I do not know, but it is alright, since I am now here!"
Sammy awkwardly pulled her arms away from Neji's neck after she realized it was just Lee. "Sorry..." she apologized. Of course I had to do that, she thought. That was so embarrassing...
Naruto shook his head. "Whatever... We'll fix the window later. We have to play Chicken! Who's Lee's partner gonna be?"
Savanna chuckled even though she was greatly startled by Lee's sudden leap through her window. However, she wasn't mad... Why would she be? Technically, this is my home, she thought. Every part of it really is mine, but I don't really own it... Wait, no. I do own it, but it's not officially mine... But it still belongs to me... Ugh. I'm just not going to think about that. Finally paying attention to what Naruto asked, she replied, "I don't know... Anyone is fine. Right, Lee?"
Lee vigorously nodded, the shine on his dark hair moving up and down. "Of course! It will be fun to play Chicken with anyone!"
After pausing for a moment, Savanna lowered her eyes in deep thought. How in the world, she wondered, does Lee know what Chicken is?
"Count me out," Shikamaru muttered just loudly enough for Lee to hear. Choji exhibited the same response as they moved over to the shaded backyard patio in an attempt to avoid the commotion that would ensue.
There was nobody left except for Hinata, who still sat at the edge of the deep end, nervously twiddling her fingers and swinging her legs back and forth. Tenten warmly smiled at her. "C'mon, Hinata. Lee needs a partner, and I'll be playing along with you," she persuaded.
Hinata looked at her shyly. "I...I don't know... I can't really push anyone..."
Tenten waved her off. "Pshhhh. Of course you can... That's all you do! 64 Palms this, Air Palm that. That's basically just pushing."
"And nobody will get hurt," Lee added. "We are in the pool!"
A small smile formed on Hinata's face. "Well, alright... If you say so..."
After feeling Sammy's arms wrap around his neck following Lee's crash, Neji blinked. That same strange feeling came again... It seemed to prick at him, almost telling him to... do something. He was so concentrated on figuring out this phenomena that he almost didn't pick up Sammy's rushed apology. Returning to the present, he breathed out a sigh. "It's quite alright," he responded. "It's perfectly expected... Lee is so ridiculous."
"I suppose he his... but I think he's funny," Sammy replied, wondering the same thing Savanna wondered. She didn't explain Chicken to Lee, and her cousin didn't, either...so how, exactly, did he know what they were playing?
Lee's smile grew even bigger as he watched Hinata dip herself into the pool and swim over. "Whenever you are ready, Hinata!" he said to her before going completely underwater. She had overheard Savanna explaining the game to Naruto and Kiba before, so she already understood the game and sat herself on Lee's shoulders. He easily stood up once more and smiled at the others.
"Are we all ready to play?!" Naruto screamed. "'Cause I know I am!"
Kiba rolled his eyes. "No duh, Naruto. You're practically vibrating with excitement over there," he retorted. "Calm down."
"Shut up, Kiba! You're just jealous that I'm partners with Savanna and you're not!" Naruto shot back, knowing how to push his buttons. Kiba's eyes widened for a split second before he realized that he had already given away too much.
"No way! She only chose you because you asked first, even though you didn't even ask!"
"She chose me because she clearly wanted to be my partner and not yours!"
"That's not possible since I'm way more good looking than you!"
Naruto gasped. "YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"
"NO!"
A blush crept onto Savanna's cheeks as she listened to them bicker over who was better than the other. I do agree that Kiba's good looking, she thought. And Naruto, too... Why do people have to look so nice in this world?
Sasuke fidgeted, the awkward mood between him and Sai only increasing with every minute. "Let's start already," he impatiently said. "This is tiring."
"Well, Kiba needs to shut up!" Naruto growled, his blue eyes shooting daggers at Kiba.
"I'm only telling the truth," Kiba defended. "Heh."
Naruto opened his mouth to bark out another comeback, but Savanna jabbed the top of his head with her pointer finger, effectively shutting him up. "Stop this, guys!" she demanded. "Let's just play and have fun."
"Yeah," Tenten agreed. "It's not fun listening to Kiba and Naruto argue about stupid things like who is more better looking. In my opinion, both of you are hideous."
Hinata nearby giggled, but Kiba's mouth turned down in a frown. "Sure, sure," he sarcastically said. "You just don't want to admit the truth. Everyone knows that I have perfect features."
Pondering over Sammy's comment, Neji immediately disagreed. "Lee... Funny? More like utterly absurd." He glanced disapprovingly at Kiba and Naruto. "Like them right now."
Facepalming, Savanna let out a frustrated sigh. Whatever, she thought after a moment. I'll just start the game... "On your mark... Get set... Go!"
Waiting for the cue to finally start the game, Sai motioned towards Naruto with his hand. "Sasuke, please go to Naruto," he requested. "He won't have the balls to hold against me."
He's so strange, Sasuke repeated. Nonetheless, he still obeyed Sai and waded over to Naruto and Savanna, trying to avoid eye contact with everyone.
Oooooh, thought Savanna. Here comes Sai... Hehe! Grinning, she grabbed his forearms as they neared each other and jerked him to the side, nearly tossing him into the pool. Somehow, Sasuke grunted and managed to keep Sai upright. In turn, Sai gave a strong push of his own and threw Naruto off balance again.
"Are you even a man, Naruto?" Sai taunted. "You're pretty wimpy."
"That's it!" Naruto burst out. "I'm sick of your BALLS jokes! Get him, Savanna!"
Savanna didn't have to be told twice. When Naruto charged towards Sai and Sasuke, she slammed her palms into Sai's chest. The impact was too large, so Sai toppled into the pool and subsequently dragged Sasuke under the surface of the water with him. Cheering, Savanna gave Naruto and high five. So far, so good, she thought.
Sammy didn't reply to Neji's comment and payed attention to Kiba's mind, gathering that he was planning on going for Savanna and Naruto.
"Go after Kiba and Tenten... they're going to go after Naruto and Savanna," Sammy said to Neji with a lowered voice. "And Kiba's pretty mad. So we've gotta do this and we've gotta do it fast." She giggled at herself after she gave him the pep-talk. I sound like my gym teacher, she thought.
"CHAAAAAAARGE!" Lee cried unexpectedly, running towards Sammy and Neji at top speed. "Hinata and I will win!"
Neji slid out of the way just before Hinata attempted to push Sammy over. The whole scene caused the blonde's giggling to turn into laughing. Sasuke resurfaced with flat hair, Lee was red with determination, and she just realized that Ino was upstairs stealing Savanna's bra.
Kiba ignored all of the commotion on the other side of the shallow end and began running towards Naruto and Savanna. "You're going down," he growled. "Way down!"
"Ah! Wha?" Naruto turned his attention towards Tenten and Kiba, just noticing that they were on their way towards them. "Ah!"
Tenten reached her arms forward and succeeded on pushing Savanna. Naruto stumbled slightly but still managed to stay upright. "So close!" she exclaimed, and waited for another chance.
Sai poked his head up from the water. "How did that happen?" he asked himself, running through the situation over and over again in his head. "Savanna somehow managed to push me over."
"That's exactly how it all went down," Sasuke muttered. "Savanna pushed you. End of the story."
"Huh," said Sai. "How strange..."
Listening to Sai's thoughts, Savanna became a little creeped out. Strange? she thought. That's strange? Well, okay, then...
Recovering from Neji's quick dodge, Lee charged at him and Sammy again. However, Hinata wasn't quite ready yet, so she gave a little squeak at the sudden burst of speed. When Lee neared Neji and Sammy, he didn't slow down, but Neji dodged the assault yet another time. As a result, Hinata hastily tried to put herself together and push over Sammy, but the momentum from her miss made Lee lose his balance and drop her into the water.
Lee resurfaced, his eyes wide open with regret. "No! I should have been more careful!"
Hinata resurfaced as well, just barely hearing Lee's comment. "I-It's okay, Lee... It's just a game..."
Now liberated from Lee and Hinata, Neji moved towards Kiba and Tenten, blocking their path when they tried to reach Naruto and Savanna. Kiba rolled his eyes, obviously thinking that they weren't going to be a nuisance to him.
"Oh, hey, Neji!" Tenten greeted. "I never thought I'd live to see the day when you willingly carried a girl. Hah!"
Kiba smirked. "Yeah, Neji. I guess you got to know Savanna's cousin pretty well already, huh?"
Neji wasn't one to blush, but he nonetheless slightly flushed at their teasing. Unlike Naruto, he wasn't going to argue with some hopeless comeback that would do nothing but waste time, so he stayed silent and stepped a little closer to the pair in front of him. "I'm leaving it to you, Sammy," he softly said.
"I have a name, Kiba," she smirked after recovering from her laugh attack. "And it's most definitely not 'Savanna's Cousin'."
At that, she reached and pushed Tenten, causing Kiba to apply more effort in holding his partner. Still managing to stand up, he attempted to get around Neji and Sammy to reach Naruto and Savanna, but he couldn't since Neji stepped in the way once more.
"Oh, move, would you?" Kiba asked, sounding irratated. "I'm not trying to get to you two!"
"But we're trying to get to you," Sammy pointed out, pushing Tenten again. Kiba almost fell back but caught himself just in time.
"Yeah, I can see that." He frowned, sliding in another direction to get past the two.
Sammy found her chance and gave one last push, finally resulting in a fall between Tenten and Kiba. "HA! Yes!...How did I do that?"
"It is not just a game! This was war, Hinata!" Lee wailed, breaking into a fit of tears. "WE COULD HAVE WON IF IT WERE NOT FOR ME!"
Hinata blinked. "O-oh... I... I'm sorry for misunderstanding, Lee..."
"ALL MY FAULT!" he continued to bawl, not even paying attention to anything the world around him was doing.
"HA! HA! Take that, Kiba! Even though it wasn't me! You still LOST!" Naruto taunted as Kiba stood up, shaking his hips. "HA! HAHAHA!"
"Shut up! I just wasn't paying attention, that's all!" Kiba defended, folding his arms.
"Yeah, sure! That's it, Kiba! Sammy just pushed you guys over since you're weak! HA!"
"No way!" Kiba stubbornly argued. "I told you, I wasn't paying attention! I was concentrating on holding Tenten upright! You must know how hard that is, to hold a person up... I mean, you're holding Savanna right now!"
Naruto suddenly glanced up at Savanna as if he just realized she was on his shoulders. "Heh, Kiba. You really are weak... Savanna isn't heavy to me at all!"
Atop Naruto's shoulders, Savanna watched the scene was an amused expression. I swear, she thought, this world makes me want to fangirl at least every five minutes. Naruto and Kiba are flattering me so much... It's just... Looking down, she noticed that her fingers were again intertwined in Naruto's hair. Ahhh! Oh my gosh. Why does Naruto have to be so cute?
While Savanna proceeded to have a mental breakdown, not surprisingly, Naruto and Kiba continued to throw insults at each other. "You're just saying that so you can show off," Kiba spat. "You're pathetic."
At that, Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Well, you're a loser!"
Eavesdropping on the conversation (well, who couldn't? Naruto and Kiba were basically shouting at each other), Sasuke wholeheartedly agreed with Naruto for once. Yes, Kiba's a big loser, he thought. Pausing for a second, he added, And so is Naruto.
"Idiot," Kiba growled.
"STUPID BUTT-FACE!" Naruto yelled.
The last insult from Naruto threw Kiba over the edge. "That's it!" he exclaimed. Wading over to Naruto and Savanna as quickly as he could, he pushed the stunned Naruto, making him let go of Savanna and submerge under the surface of the pool with her.
Snapping back to reality, Savanna opened her eyes under the pool. Whoa, she thought. I didn't know ninja could see perfectly underwater... This is so cool! Ninja can hold their breath for a long time, too... I love being a ninja. Glancing to the side, she saw Naruto regarding her, so she smiled.
"Because we worked together," Neji replied, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Quickly, he surveyed the pool. "It looks like we're the only ones left, Sammy. We won."