He groaned as the alarm went off, looking at the time; 4:50 AM.
He hastily got up as he remembered that he had to get ready. The date read December 27th, which was the date of her birthday. Today was when the whole "going to the resort" plan started and Sasuke rushed to pack up what he needed.
He opened his window and looked over at the main gate and it seems a couple people have already gathered there. His heart raced in anticipation as he added the gift he had set aside in the luggage, leaving to join up with the others.
It was a great idea leaving early it seemed, nobody was awake except for their circle of friends, two old geezers and the sisterly figure caught in between, who they decided to tag along.
As he arrived at the main gate, he looked around at who was present, Shino, Kiba, Tamaki, Ino, Sai, Chōji, Karui, Shikamaru, Temari, Kankurō, Sakura, Lee, Tenten, Neji, Kakashi, Takane, Yamato, and the birthday girl herself.
He looked around once more wondering where his loud blond besfriend could be and just as he was about to ask, Naruto dashed towards the group while munching on toast and carrying more bags.
Shino stepped up to check if everyone was present then proceeded to explain the plan. There's a resort in the Land of Hot Water that they checked out weeks before and decided that it was perfect for a 3-day stay.
Sasuke glanced at her from time to time as all the girls huddled up to talk while Shikamaru approached him.
"Hey bachelor, how you holdin' up?" the raven-haired male responded with a shrug as he seemed to notice that he was starting to stare at her, which caused Sai and Kiba to join the two of them.
Kiba looked at Sasuke, then Hinata, and back to Sasuke as a smirk formed on his lips. His fangs exposed had only ever meant trouble for anyone and the Uchiha reached out to cover his mouth before he could say anything.
Shikamaru crossed his arms with a satisfied look as he and Sai looked at the girls. Shikamaru knew well that what Sasuke was going through needed time and it that it had to be kept a secret so he atleast promised to keep quiet about it, as with his wife and best friend but hoping they'd be able to keep it as well as he does, knowing how women seem to have the tendecy to tell each other everything.
He sighed at the thought, wondering about what women really talked to each other about and if so, hoped that his blonde best friend wasn't the type to share too much with her friends.
Kiba continued to struggle, mumbling and threatening the Uchiha that he will not hesitate to bite him, or get Akamaru to do so if he doesn't let go. The raven-haired male glared in response as best he can, warning him of what he could do if he says something he shouldn't.
He waved both arms in defeat, waiting for his release and leaning against the wall to catch his breath while Akamaru whined and nuzzled him.
The sound of clapping then caught everyone's attention as Kakashi checked once more to see if anyone was absent and when all was ready, led the way to their route.
The three decided to stick by Sasuke and just chat around until they get to their first destination. It seems that it's going to take awhile but the whole 3-day stay really did sound appealing and all the more worth it.
The girls surrounded Hinata and giggled every now and then, behavior that seemed to frustrate Kiba. "Goddamn females always talking about weird shit, I don't get it, aren't there some things you're just never supposed to share? Anything at all?!"
Sasuke stared in confusion as the two other men patted Kiba's back to assure him. "Come on now, are you really doubting Tamaki? I doubt she'd share anything confidential."
But just as Shikamaru tried to calm him with what were petty words to the hound boy, Sakura and Ino turned to look at Kiba while blushing and stifling laughter.
"THAT DARING LITTLE BITCH, DUDE-" Surprisingly, Sai was the one to rush and cover his mouth before he could say any more. Tamaki turned around and glared at Kiba, an action which strangely enough caused the brunet's face to redden.
He sighed in relief as he gave Kiba a strange look. Was that his special nickname for her? If so, he found the relationship weird despite him and his wife having the similar situation. "What the hell, it's the term for a female dog, she absolutely loves it when I call her that."
Shikamaru chuckled as he observed his quiet wife. He wasn't sure if she had any issues since she seemed to get along well with Konohagakure's kunoichi especially back when Konoha and Suna's alliance had been solidified. She has been and will always be a part of the Hidden Leaf, he thought. She merely looked at the others and laughed once in awhile.
If there was any one of them who trusts their wife the most, he was thinking he'd be that guy. His wife had always been such an audacious, sometimes brutal and a horribly honest woman that he had come to fall in love with.
He looked at Naruto who happily observed his wife as well. The whole Naruto-and-Sakura thing surprised him, knowing about their whole situation. Sakura and the whole Sasuke thing and Hinata with the whole Naruto situation. But in the end, the blond man was indeed, oblivious after all. But surprisingly, he was one who never got upset with him. Not that he had any reason to anyways. He was happy for their cheerful hero who has saved him and everyone more than once, or twice, and they knew they could never fully repay him for everything he's done.
But as happy as he was that Naruto had finally gotten his dream woman, he was also saddened for the Hyūga upon finding out how heartbroken she was. Hinata was horribly out of character and after realizing that she can't hang on to Naruto forever, she lost herself and finally... gave up. Stuttering was no longer a habit, her finger gestures were no longer present, and she wasn't as easily flustered as she used to.
Her best friends and former team mates were saddened at the drastic change but were simply glad she was somehow still the Hinata they'd always loved. Shikamaru thought to himself, what really suddenly, was the actual reason why Sasuke is infatuated with this girl? She has always been around before his rogue-nin days but he never payed attention to her.
She was a part of the same Rookie 9 that they'd been in. She was very active and present in the Fourth Shinobi World War, and he was sure that Sasuke was aware that she was a part of the same four noble clans of Konoha as he was.
Why all of a sudden did he have feelings for her? Shikamaru knew it was wrong but the first thing that came to mind was desperation. Was Sasuke truly desperate to love someone that it just so happened to be the Hyūga that caught his attention? After thinking it through, he decided to drop it and move on to something more logical. He believed Sasuke wouldn't stoop so low, he atleast thought he knew the Uchiha much better than that.
Hinata really was undeniably beautiful so he cannot blame Sasuke if that was one reason as to why. Then he moved on to the whole personality thing. Could he perhaps not paid as much attention to her because her shy behavior didn't sit well with him? He considered the whole change that happened with her and wondered if...
Now that she was a different, braver Hinata, was she more appealing to him?
He fought with his mind, trying to settle for an answer until it drifted to Hinata. What does she even think of Sasuke? Before, she had helped a lot and tried her best to bring Sasuke back as well but only for the sake of Naruto, knowing how important the Uchiha was to him. He also thought about how she had mostly known Sasuke as an S-Rank missing-nin who Sakura loved greatly, like she did for the blond man.
He looked over at Sasuke, Kiba, and Sai, who were now accompanied by Naruto and Shino. As much as he didn't like to admit it, he wanted to help Sasuke, to see what could come out of this situation. After all, he is Shikamaru Nara, son of one of the greatest minds of Konoha, much like himself, Shikaku. He looked up at the sky as he thought about all the times he was hailed as a great tactitian and wondered, will he be able to help in this case, a man with his fate in love?
-----
The guys dropped their bags and ran to the benches, drenched in sweat as the majority felt the fatigue kick in. They would have atleast two stops at luxurious inns before actually getting to the grand resort.
"All that walking makes me want to just magically float all the way to the resort, when are we gonna get there?"
Kakashi looked at the time as he was carrying the bags inside for them to check in. "It'll be about 10 more hours until we get to the next inn and after that, 6 hours to the resort."
Everyone marched inside, excited for the hot springs.
"This damn resort better be worth it or I'm gonna go eat dogs."
Shino stopped in his tracks as he looked over at his best friend. "I believe that is impossible for you. Why? Because I can guarantee you will feel like you are eating your own kind."
Kiba grabbed Shino by his collar and glared at him as he grew flustered. "Why do you have to comment about every damn thing and drive me into a corner every damn time?!"
Tamaki quietly walked over to the two and carried Akamaru, nodding as he proceeded to bite Kiba's shoulder.
He whined loudly, glaring at his girlfriend and long-time partner. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR AKAMARU?!"
Akamaru growled in response as he tugged on Kiba's pants as to drag him to their room. Kiba sighed in defeat, but still upset with the fellow. "Don't you think I'm done with you Shino, you're gonna pay for all of this."
Shino maintained the same stoic expression all throughout Kiba's supposed lecture as he quietly marched into the room he was assigned and Naruto, though forgetful when it came to Shino, adored the fact that he could be so cool.
Sasuke looked at the list and he would be sharing a room with Kakashi, Yamato, Naruto and Shikamaru.
The group first helped the ladies carry their luggage to the room before heading out for the hotsprings altogether.
Yamato and Kakashi immediately sunk in and relaxed in the hot spring, with Yamato's head hung back and Kakashi making sure that the towel covering the lower half of his face was secure.
Sasuke settled at the very edge of the spring, gazing at Shikamaru and the two "old geezers" as Naruto got in with a belly flop, his towel falling from his waist just right before getting into the water. The other four cringed at the sight, meanwhile stifling laughter as Naruto shook in pain.
There was an awkard silence between the men until giggling could be heard on the other side of spring, and all five of them looked up at the wooden wall that separated them from the ladies.
"Well isn't that great, they're all having some female fun."
Naruto grinned mischievously as he got up and pressed his face against the wall, checking if he can see anything through a small gap.
Kakashi tried to warn him about his wife who was a disciple of the legendary kunoichi, their dear Fifth. Naruto rolled his eyes in confidence of accomplishing his task unnoticed.
Sasuke moved to Naruto and grabbed his ankle, pulling him back into the water. Shikamaru already knew why he'd done so. They were all well aware that of course, he should already be familiar with his wife in a similar state by now, (A/n: Clearly has the image burned into his memory, hn.) even aware of just how deadly she can be, so why was he peeping?
The dark haired man ruffled his medium-length black hair as he looked at the expression that graced Sasuke's facial features. Worried about his fair maiden it seems...
Naruto grunted, mumbling curses as he gave up and glared at Sasuke while begging Kakashi to help him. As much as the silver-haired man wanted to, he wasn't sure he was ready to see his lady friend's bare body with the trickling water. The very thought flustered him and he did not hesitate to deny Naruto's request.
The raven-haired male wrapped the towel around his waist as he got up, waving off the four as he decided to rest up in their room. As he walked to the change rooms he came across what he least expected.
Hinata stood frozen, just as he had. They both stared at each other in surprise and his mind raced as he tried to fight the desire of his eyes wandering aimlessly which probably wasn't such a great idea, he thought.
Meanwhile she was also deeply flustered as her eyes tried to resist wandering on his toned muscles, his chest and everything else dripping with water.
Sasuke decided he'd be the one to break the ice as he cleared his throat, averting his gaze before he cooks up an image he'd regret recalling upon the sight of her. "Was the spring refreshing?"
She looked down at her feet, still flustered as she could only manage a nod. "I-is the spring on your side good as well?"
It's been awhile since he last heard her stutter and he wondered if he made her uncomfortable, what with the noticeable tension in her voice. "Hn."
He walked past her, grabbing a robe the inn usually offered for himself and one for her as well. "If the hot spring wasn't enough, take this and warm up. I was told there was food down the main hall. Would you mind joining me for a meal?"
"H-hai." Shyly taking the robe from him, she looked back at the basket that contained her regular clothes and contemplated if she should just settle with that instead of the robe. But as she held it close to her body that was in nothing but a mere towel, she realized the robes were warmed up for that very purpose.
She bowed in respect before excusing herself and heading to the ladies' room to change.
What she didn't see was the Sasuke that was overwhelmed with feelings. He covered his face as he reddened and he knew he had to make sure no one saw him in this state as he walked off to go change as well.
-----
Sooo... Takane is my OC who will be the lady of the foxy Silver-haired copy ninja in a different story of mine.
Well this should be interesting, as you know the majority of the couples here are cannon but I hope you guys enjoy the story as much as I do ^^;
See you at the resort~