Sakura knew what the problem was; she all too familiar with the symptoms of 
low self-esteem. *But you have friends! Don't you understand what that 
means?! People _like_ you, dammit! Stop being so down on yourself!* 

She needs the book!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0440504708/103-2097500-6979050?v=glance&n=283155

Standing

suddenly, the pink-haired girl stormed around the table and grabbed Hinata's 
sleeve. "These are soaked!"

"Huh? Ah- y-yes, I suppose; I didn't expect it to rain so hard-"

Pulling the shy kunoichi to her feet, Sakura dragged Hinata stumbling toward 
the door. "C'mon, we still have a couple hours before the others get here. 
There's a bath in the guest wing you can use to warm up a bit, and then you 
can change into some dry clothes; I have some stuff that might fit you."

Thus accomplishing Sakura's "secret" desire to see Hinata in a 
size-too-small sleeveless chinese minidress.

"Wha- S-Sakura-chan?!"

A knock on the door alerted the guard on the other side, and without 
ceremony they were released back into the courtyard of the small, fortified 
station that defended the ferry crossing to the castle. 

"We're going to the castle," Sakura stated in a tone that brooked no 
argument. When the young soldier hesitated, Sakura grabbed Hinata's hand and 
pulled the other girl close. "She's my bodyguard; I'll personally answer to 
the Lord if she tries anything. We're only going to the outer bailey, 
anyway."

Glancing behind him to a samurai about Kakashi's age with a strong, square 
jaw and very imposing sideburns,

I got a sudden image of a samurai in a napoleonic infantry officer 
outfit. But only the last time through, so it's probably just me.

"No you're not!" Sakura snapped testily. Upon reflection, she realized that 
Hinata was probably referring to the condition of her clothes.

Some people shouldn't be judging others, Sakura...

"Hmm..." The white-eyed girl had a point: some of the men on the walls 
probably _were_ watching them. "Yeah, you're probably right. We'd better 
just pretended that we didn't see anything." She could ask her grandfather 
about it later, when Hinata wasn't around to get in trouble. 

Yes, please don't set of a Civil war now, Sakura. We'd never get to all 
the other looming threats

genkan. "Someone must have called ahead," she noted, not at all surprised 
that their conversation had been overheard. "The bath's probably ready too."

Yet, it never occurs to her to consider if anyone's watching in the 
bath. Granpapy and his spymasters are going to have a whole new 
appreciation for Konoha ninja when they read this report.

"Ah..." Staring blankly at the floor for a moment, Hinata crouched down and 
deliberately began removing her boots.

*Geez, how shy can you get?* In the end, Hinata had been too polite to 
refuse Sakura's invitation, but it was easy to tell that the brunette was 
dragging her feet. *She must've at least used a public bath before.* 

She lives her life in what is essentially a nudist's colony. That 
doesn't mean taking off your clothes doesn't have a whole other set of 
meanings than setting aside modesty, of course. Especially in a clan 
where the polite illusion of modesty is all you can have.

Hanging

her coat on the drying rack conveniently placed by the door, Sakura pulled 
off her boots and grabbed a towel; they weren't going to be hanging around 
for long, so she didn't bother to take a robe. 

She is obviously not yet fully informed on the finer points of seduction.

"Um... y-yes..." Seeming more self-conscious than when she was taking of her 
adorable, pinwheel-patterned panties, 

See, little details like this are what make this seem pervy. Er. :)

Hinata took a couple deep breaths

before reaching back to untie the knot behind her head. Once the dark cloth 
fell away, Sakura could see that there was a thick strip of white gauze 
underneath.

Feeling a twinge of worry, Sakura was immediately struck by how strange it 
would be if Hinata had gotten hurt the same way she had. *Stupid Hyuuga 
training techniques...* She was about to comment, but the intense look on
Hinata's face as she unwrapped the bandage made Sakura hold her tongue. 

When the last loop of gauze peeled free from Hinata's skin, stuck to her 
brow by a jagged line of reddish-brown stains, it took Sakura's brain 
several seconds to process what she was seeing. Unfortunately, her mouth was 
much faster on the uptake. "Holy $#%&, is that real?!" she blurted, gaping 
at the stylized manji branded on Hinata's forehead.

Revealing the seal was actually amazing brave of Hinata, especialy since 
she seems to have just gotten it today.

Oh, and $%^))) &^@ $%^&?

Jolting as if she'd been bitten, Hinata stared wide-eyed at the other girl. 
"S-Sakura-chan?!"

"Ah- oh #&%^$! Waah!" Slapping a hand over her mouth, Sakura exchanged a 
look of shock with the white-eyed kunoichi. *Dammit! I can't believe I 
&$%#^in' said that!* Taking her hand away, Sakura gestured frantically for 
Hinata to stay calm. "I'm sorry! You just surprised me is all! $#%*~- I 
mean- I didn't mean-" At a loss for words, Sakura shut her mouth before she 
could dig herself any deeper. 

Kindest thing you could have said, Sakura, kindest thing you could have 
said.

"But it feels so... so..." The Hyuuga trailed off with a playful grin. 
"Wow... #&^$!"

"Hiiinaaataaaa!"

Sakura's probably the only one to have seen Hinata genuinely smile in at 
least two days.

Keep it up Sakura, you've got her eating out of the palms of your hands!

"Okay, I'll stop," Hinata assured the red-faced girl, finally regaining a 
bit of composure. "Are you alright, Sakura-chan?" she asked, her smile 
dimming to less worrying proportions.

"I'm fine," Sakura lied. Her heart was still doing backflips, even though it 
looked like Hinata wasn't going to start treating her like she was some sort 
of evil anti-Sakura from another dimension. 

Though, really, Hinata'd be completely right if she did.

*It's a good thing she's got

such a funky sense of humor,* Sakura mused.

Or has been under a massive amount of stress and desperate for an outlet.

When she looked up again, Sakura couldn't help but glance at the curse seal 
in the middle of Hinata's forehead. "What about you Hinata-chan? Are you 
alright?" she ventured hesitantly.

"You mean, besides the whole "me and all my kids enslaved to my bitchy, 
abusive younger sister" thing? Peachy!"

Though she wanted to return the smile, a small frown forced its way onto 
Sakura's lips. "Do you want to talk about it?" she prodded gently, still 
feeling like she was wading waist-deep in murky waters. 

Regretfully, the castle plumbers had not yet fixed that minor backflow 
problem with the bathhouse toilets.

Grabbing a pair of wash buckets and stools from the stack in the corner, 
Sakura and Hinata set to work cleaning up. Liquid body soap and shampoo were 
provided, though the pink-haired girl took a moment to grimace in distaste 
at the generic brands. *Still cheap, grandpa.*

These little bits of internal, irrelevant thoughts really help to keep 
all the drama and humor grounded and keep the viewer seeing things from 
Sakura's point of view rather than disinterested observer.

Wetting her washcloth, Sakura turned to her companion. "Want me to scrub 
your back, Hinata-chan?"

No, Hinata-chan! Have you never seen those movies? Run! Preserve your 
precious innocence while you still can!

Hinata, who was in the process of gingerly sponging away the dried blood on 
her forehead, turned to peer at the pink-haired girl out of the corner of 
her eye. "Please," she replied politely. "Thank you," she added, when Sakura 
scooted closer. 

"Don't worry about it!" Sakura chirped, squeezing a bit of soap into the 
washcloth and scrunching it between her hands to work up a lather. Kneeling 
behind Hinata, Sakura took a moment to marvel at the brunette's creamy 
white, perfectly unblemished skin. She could do without the creepy eyes, but 
the Hyuuga certainly seemed to have more than their fair share of genetic 
advantages. 

Noooo. Already she has been reduced to mere breeding material in the 
mind of the predatory Sakura. All hope is lost.

Before she could stop herself, Sakura's gaze drifted lower, zeroing in on 
the hint of breast that she could see under Hinata's arm as the shorter girl 
leaned forward. *Dammit, they're $#%&in' huge!* It was hard to believe that 
she was looking at a girl only three months older than herself. 

Way to remind us we're reading a lesbian bath scene between *thirteen 
year olds!*

Just as Sakura was about to pounce on her unsuspecting prey, the pale girl 
gave a reflexive jerk. "Sakura-chan?" Hinata called nervously, starting to 
turn around.

Damn that highly developed ninja danger sense.

Startled out of her jealous trance, Sakura nearly fell over backwards as she 
hastily retracted her hands. "Ah! Uh- I- I just thought for a second that I 
might have grabbed the wrong b-bottle!" 

Thankful that she hadn't dropped her washcloth, Sakura leaned forward and 
began industriously scrubbing Hinata's shoulders. *Gah! What the hell was I 
thinking?!* Fondling Hinata's breasts was almost certainly _not_ the way to 
put the girl at ease. 

I don't know. Fainting, I understand, is quite relaxing.

Much to the Sakura's chagrin, however, the urge to give Hinata's chest a 
playful squeeze didn't subside even after she returned to her senses. Her 
hands twitched longingly as she worked her way down Hinata's back, inching 
closer and closer to that succulent forbidden fruit, now hanging so 
tantalizingly within reach. 

God, you know how much you sound like a bad lemon, or romance novel 
(much the same thing) here?

*Maybe if I asked first? 'Hinata-chan? I know this is gonna sound weird, but 
whatever Kiba's told you, I'm _not_ a lesbian-

Suuure.

  so can I touch your boobs?'

Yeah, that doesn't sound perverted at all... Dammit!* It probably wouldn't 
be satisfying if Hinata just _let_ her do it, anyway; she didn't want to cop 
a feel so much as she wanted to hear the shy girl squeal.

I'm sure Hinata's reaction that question would have been just as amusing 
as any squeal.

*So she did notice...* Swallowing a melancholy sigh, Sakura wordlessly 
returned to her own stool, not wanting to make her friend any more 
uncomfortable. *I wish she'd just say something.* Sadly, Hinata was too nice 
to make a fuss, even if she thought she was about to be ravaged by some 
deranged sexual predator. 

Perhaps she wouldn't mind?

Hearing the other girl stand, Sakura was surprised to find Hinata moving 
toward her, washcloth in hand. "W-would you like me to wash your back now?" 
the pale girl offered, the hopeful look on her face wilting slightly under 
Sakura's stare of confusion.

"...You don't have to do that, Hinata-chan," Sakura finally managed to 
protest, but the gratitude in her voice much have reached Hinata, for the 
brunette didn't retreat.

Or, you know, that whole ravishing thing.

Their faces only inches apart, both girls reddened simultaneously, but for a 
moment neither Sakura nor Hinata neither moved to disengage. *Wow, they're 
soft too...* Sakura mused in wonderment.

Aaah! I was right!

"Kiba wants to fight me?" Sakura blinked in confusion. *Why the hell do all 
of the loud idiots want to fight me all of a sudden?*

They recognize their own.

"He was really mad at you couple weeks ago," Hinata confirmed with a nod. 
"Shino-kun said you used a genjutsu on him that made him do something really 
embarrassing."

*Ooooh, _that_.* Sakura tried not to think about the ramen incident; it 
wasn't a pleasant memory for her either. *Dammit, I should'a just ripped his 
#*@&$^in' tongue out!* Now, thanks to Kiba's big mouth (and a small 
miscalculation on her part), not only did the entire village think she was 
gay, but Sasuke-kun probably thought she was some sort of sadistic monster.

Probably the surest way to marrying him, really. He does associates it 
with family...

"I love you too, Hinata-chan" Sakura whispered playfully, giving the 
brunette a friendly peck on the cheek, "but not like- huh?" A stab of worry 
shook Sakura out of her licentious stupor as Hinata's entire body seized up, 
then suddenly went limp, a though her adorable new toy had blown a fuse. 

YES! YES! REDEMPTION! I CAUGHT A TYPO!

"a though" should be "as though".

"...Hinata-chan?" Panic welled in the pink-haired girl's stomach as she 
shook her unresponsive companion. "H-hey, are you okay? Hinata-chan?!"




S  U  I  R  E  N

Well, the spy report on this little conversation should really interest 
Grandfather Haruno. I can't wait to see his reaction when he has to face 
Sakura again, or if this ever gets back to the Anbu (and Hyuuga!) in Konoha.

Don't soften the bath scene, btw. A lot of the humor is strengthened by 
how close to being REALLY REALLY WRONG it comes, and the slight 
discomfort this causes in the reader allows more sympathy for the 
characters.

Now, to summarize what I think is happening with Hinata.

Hinata's known the sealing was happening for a while, but has told 
nobody. Otherwise something would have shown up in Kurenai's thoughts, 
and she would have been sparing less concern for Sakura. All she knew 
was that the Hyuugas wanted Hinata kept back from this mission.

This hasn't kept Hinata from being quietly a wreck and bottling up way 
too many emotions, which make her react very strongly when Sakura 
reminds her so much of the one she really admires (Naruto) and offers 
her non-judgemental friendship. After all, nothing she reveals to Sakura 
could possibly be worse than what she "knows" Sakura's done, right? And 
Sakura likes girls...

The Anbu at the gate was there to watch Hinata to make sure she didn't 
do anything stupid after the sealing. Hinata probably was there yearning 
for some kind of escape or privacy away from her clan. He almost 
certainly tailed them to the castle, and is probably still around. If he 
spied on everything in the bathhouse depends on where you want to take 
that little situation.

Kurenai is panicking, and still doesn't know everything that's up with 
the sealing. All she knows is that her innocent, vulnerable and easily 
led little Hinata is following Anko-Junior into the wilderness and a 
fortress known for disliking ninja, on a delicate diplomatic mission 
that she had been expressely forbidden by the Hyuuga elders from leaving on.

She'll probably be arriving at the castle a whole lot sooner than Sakura 
thinks. The hours long run through the rain is going to have Kiba and 
Shino in a really good mood too...

William



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