Bench Warmer (A Naruto SI)Blackmarch
Chapter 29
The moon went down. The sun came up. The sun went down to make way for the moon, repeat ad nauseam.
Time passed as it ever did, my time with the cats coming to an end after a day that I'd always remember fondly: being named the godmother to so many kittens, if only because I'd been walking through a maternity ward at the time, tiny babies with names as powerful and illustrious as Fuwafuwa, Shuga, and Mashumaro, was a life-changing experience.
Awe-inspiring.
Heart-melting.
It overshadowed even my new headband, now sitting proudly on Yanyan's head until I needed it again. Or the mad cackling of Nekobaa once she'd heard how we'd gone about getting that pawprint-
That's what he gets for underestimating you three, that mangy old tom.
-and the awkward uncertainty of Sasuke while I'd been cooing over kittens as he processed that the quest he'd built up in his head had ended without a fuss. Or much personal effort. As a D-rank should.
As a children's game should…a children's game that had a confrontation with Matatabi built into its very foundation, yes, but a children's game all the same.
They shouldn't be taken seriously.
Especially at our age. We were almost adults.
The Chunin Exams were coming up. Adulthood. Responsibility.
The end of our carefree days.
We should know better.
Should.
… His brother's mad ramblings on the nature of strength had clearly affected his expectations beyond what was reasonable. And I could only assume its impact on Sasuke's state of mind (not all experiences were equal), but our last C-rank hadn't helped with this; that, I was sure, and I hoped this adventure of ours might have helped.
I hoped.
It helped me.
Nothing horrible had happened. No one had gotten hurt. The curtain that separated us from felines, not so different from us, had been pulled back. We'd been allowed to revel in the miracle of life: fuzzy, still-moist balls made up entirely of mewling complaints and hunger…and all was well.
…Almost all.
I frowned.
The lack of appropriate care for one's teeth had been appalling. Sasuke had damaged his teeth by biting through wire. Naruto was on his sixth set of molars. Nekobaa, the only one I could somewhat forgive, only had a single tooth in her head.
Nekobaa slapped her knee and laughed, mouth opening to show nothing but gums.
Sasuke probed at the chip in his teeth with his tongue, thinking I hadn't noticed.
Naruto scowled as a tooth broke the skin, blood staining his teeth
Appalling. Just awful. And now, I had to do another thing on a long list of things.
Practice taijutsu before Kakashi threw the boys at me again. Spend time with my parents. Buy groceries. Talk with the girls and consider whether we should meet while Tenten is on a mission. Prepare for the Chunin Exams. Spend more time with Ino.
The blonde sighed into the crook of my neck, her lips pulled up in a smile as I stroked her hair… Amendment.
A lot more time with Ino.
Continue.
Learn how to regrow bone that wasn't mine. And a whole new set of procedures for maximum efficiency and comfort so I could repay an old woman for facilitating one of the best days of my life.
It was the least I could do.
"What are you thinking about so hard…? Huh? Me?" Ino interrupted my daily recap of events by tightening her hug at the back of my neck: A three-minute hold and counting in the store room of the flower shop after she'd asked me to help her move some boxes, with few signs it would end soon… Bliss. "It better be me."
Honesty.
"It better be," I agreed wholeheartedly, vanilla perfume sinking into my clothing as she rubbed herself against me and in my hair as it rubbed against her … I found it hard to care. "But sadly not."
"What? No. How could you? Why would you?" Ino playfully gasped as I stood up straight, her feet leaving the ground as she refused to let go. "Pay attention to me."
"I am."
"More."
As much as I could give.
"So clingy. So shameless." I snorted, poking her in the ribs with a finger to make her squirm. She didn't let go. "And I'm starting to think you didn't need help moving boxes."
Not that I had in the first place. But I didn't mind. Even if having the chance to move furniture or various large objects after being invited to do so would be a rather novel experience.
"No, no. I do. I really need your help with some boxes. I do." Ino giggled breathily when I poked her again, her legs wrapping around my waist. "It's a two-woman job."
… Boxes.
I looked at her out of the corner of my eye, most of me going still as my hands went up to her rear. "I see."
"No. You don't." Ino's tongue flicked over my pulse, breath hot as she ground every part of herself against me. "Not yet."
Ino.
Strings pulled at her clothing, bandages unraveling. Strands of pink tugged at the ribbon in her hair as she sucked at my neck, tugging till blonde came tumbling free.
Please.
There was a knock at the door, and the atmosphere couldn't have possibly soured any faster without a murder being involved; Ino had vanished from my arms, now at the farthest part of the room from me as she hurriedly redid her hair and tucked her bandages into the folds of her skirt while I...sighed.
Of course.
My hair pulled itself back together into a braid. My clothes straightened with a roll of my shoulders and all twenty strings pulling at the fabric before reeling back in... And I could only hope that this wouldn't be too awkward as Clarisse opened the door. Only a little, assumedly for the sake of what dignity we still possessed, as she looked in through the crack with a knowing look.
And a sniff.
…There went my hopes then.
"Mom!"
I coughed, putting my hands behind my back as Ino whined, and Clarisse laughed behind a hand. "Good afternoon, ma'am."
Hopes dashed most expertly or not; that was no reason to make it worse on myself.
"Good afternoon, Sakura," the older woman returned my greeting with clear amusement, even as she affixed her daughter with a look before she could try to slink away...coward. "I hope you're well?"
This was torture.
"No worse off from this morning, ma'am." I endured. "You?"
"I'm doing great, dear, thank you for asking. Business is booming, Inoichi is enjoying his retirement, and my daughter is a smart, private young woman that I'm very proud of." She beamed, and I could feel Ino's soul wither with shame. "Did you know that I once saw her close and lock a door?"
I exhaled through my nose, my lips quirking up at the corners without my input. "I did not, ma'am."
"It's quite the trick. Not that it would have helped here, as I have the keys to this room, but she should do it more often. And in more appropriate locations." She looked away from me and back to Ino in full as my girlfriend began to look like a deer about to be hit by a car. "There'll be a place for you at dinner tomorrow, Sakura."
I blinked, taken aback at the clear dismissal even as Ino winced and bowed her head. "Ma'am?"
"Tomorrow."
She wouldn't say it again.
I nodded, turning on my heel and stepping into a series of shunshin that had me standing in the entryway of my home in a blur.
Away from the Yamanaka compound and from how I'd expected to spend my day.
And with who.
…And I'd made Clarisse angry at me.
I knocked my head against the solid wood wall in front of me, the thud shaking dust loose from the ceiling as I let out a groan. Then I did it again. Again.
Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I'd known better. Ino had known better. We'd been playing with fire, and we'd finally been burned.
…No. That wasn't true. Not finally. Not after that dinner. This was the second time we'd been burned. We'd just refused to learn.
Instead of using basic common sense, we'd let our hearts and what was between our legs decide what we would do.
I hit my head against the wall. And I groaned. Again.
We failed to learn the first time. And the second.
There would not be a third.
I paused in running my head against the wall for a fifth time as a thought struck me. A thought that made me wince, and rest my forehead against the cool feeling of it as I sighed.
If my ninshu had been active I'd have had more than enough time to cover up any transgressions. I'd have known Clarisse was about to intrude before she did. That it hadn't been up while in the throes of passion and I'd been caught unawares, this time by an untrained woman, was shameful.
I took a breath.
Let it out.
Argh.
==========
Hinata shouldn't be here.
Why was she here?
She'd thought she was better than this. She had been better than this.
Hinata had stopped stalking Naruto years ago. Yet, here she was. Watching. Waiting. Loitering outside of Sakura's house, waiting for her to get home instead of doing something normal.
Because Hinata wanted to see her again.
All of her.
Hinata ducked her head into her hoodie, the new size allowing her to sink in up to her eyes with ease as Sakura's chakra cut through the air in front of her; the thinnest, barest of lines that Hinata wouldn't have noticed if Sakura's chakra wasn't something she was so used to.
It was beautiful.
It had always been beautiful. But, after seeing what was inside of Sakura, what was happening under her skin, what she was doing to herself… Hinata didn't have the words. She didn't even know that it was possible to fold space like that, to twist it. To shrink and grow, push and pull as parts of you change.
Sakura was never the same from moment to moment. No one was. But she had made 'change' into an artwork.
No part of her was forever.
Disappeared. Reappeared. Vanished, and became something completely different. Somewhere completely different. Or it was discarded. Removed. Replaced. All under the direction of her chakra as it moved about like it had a mind of its own…and Hinata could have cried.
She did cry.
Sakura was beautiful.
Sakura's house shook, prompting Hinata to turn on her eyes...and blink, burrowing deeper into her hoodie as she clasped her hands together.
...Sakura was beating her head against the wall.
Hinata blinked again, a reaction that did nothing to block her vision or the sight of Sakura still beating her head against the wall. "T-that's not good."
And it wasn't something that Hinata was meant to see. Or anyone.
She knew that.
Sakura was very...private. Touchy. Whatever had happened wouldn't be something that she wanted to talk about. Or have anyone know was bothering her. Especially if it made her act like - this.
No. No. Sakura wouldn't want anyone to see her like this. She wouldn't want to talk about it. Sakura wouldn't want to see anyone right now and - why the hell was Hinata crossing the street?
"What am I doing?" Hinata whispered to herself, able to see her own heart beat in her chest as she stepped onto the Haruno property. "This is a bad idea-" Hinata hurried over the path to stand in the front of the door. "Oh, gods, this is what I'm doing." She raised a hand. "Don't be weird. Don't be weird-"
Hinata tapped the door with her palm, cutting off the chakra flow to her eyes.
And she didn't get to do it again before Sakura straightened up, turned on her heel, and opened the door with such perfect economy of motion; just as the last hints of her vision faded, Hinata noted that she would need a change in underwear when she got home.
…Eep.
"Good afternoon, Hinata." Sakura nodded as Hinata pulled her hand back like she'd been burned and ducked her head. "How are you?"
Her face felt hot. Her chest hurt. And she wanted to run away.
Like always.
It was nothing new.
"I'm a-alright. I'm good. Hi… Hello." She did a quick wave before dropping it to her side, not saying any of that as Sakura gave her another nod. "I-I'm just wondering if you have free time?"
What was she doing!?
Sakura's brow furrowed. "Do I?"
Embarrassing herself.
That's what.
Hinata cowered. "Do you?"
Eep.
"...I do." As she stepped to the side, Sakura sighed, not leaving Hinata in suspense for too long. "Do you want tea?"
Not really.
Hinata, unable to trust her voice right now, mumbled an affirmative anyway as she shuffled in, and Sakura closed the door behind her.
"I'll put the pot on. Take a seat wherever you feel comfortable."
Hinata took her up on that and collapsed on the couch, her hood bouncing and falling sloppily on top of her head as she followed Sakura with her eyes and twiddled her thumbs… The urge to activate her eyes was nearly overwhelming. Just to watch the lights. To see. To understand.
Hinata tapped her nails together as Sakura's back pulled at her cheongsam, the fabric outlining her muscles whenever she moved. Taut. Strong.
She was getting stronger. Better with every bite she took, all of it fuel for the furnace or building materials to be churned out...if Hinata had to explain it.
If she had to.
If she had to explain what she thought she saw in Sakura's body, that was how she'd do it.
Yes.
Like that.
Forging a weapon. Shaping armor. Sculpting stone. Cutting wood. Shifting rivers. Raising mountains.
Like that.
It explained so much - but nothing at all. How was she doing it? When had she learned it was possible?
…If she asked, would Sakura let her watch?
Hinata shivered as Sakura turned, her braid swaying before it came loose all at once; a curtain that moved her ribbon to the side of her head, the ring up a sleeve as she snapped her fingers, and the pot in her hand began to whistle.
…Wait.
"T-that wasn't fire…?" Hinata whispered to herself.
It had been the wrong 'color'.
Not 'hot' enough.
"If you make water shake fast enough, it will boil," Sakura answered, making Hinata jump in her seat with a squeak. "Great for tea on demand. Not so much for cooking anything that doesn't involve boiling." A look of distaste crossed Sakura's face as she pulled a small table out in front of the couch, chakra strings reaching across the room to grab a plate and slide it under the pot before it could burn the wood. "I was cleaning meat off the ceiling for hours."
…That sounded…
"O-oh."
"I said something similar." Tea bags and a pair of cups soon followed. "How are you, Hinata?"
"I-I was going to ask you that." She paused as the bigger girl blinked. "I mean - how are you? Are you alright?" Hinata glanced away as Sakura blinked again, her tongue darting out to lick her lips as Sakura filled the cups. "Your house was - shaking."
Sakura didn't respond for a long while. She continued to pour instead, filling the air with the sound of water pouring over paper, the scent of middling tea, and awkward silence. "I've had better days."
Hinata nodded. "Do you want to - talk about it?"
She already knew the answer. But she had to ask.
"Not in particular." Sakura lifted a cup, and with another snap of the fingers, puffs of steam became wisps before she handed it to Hinata and...it was warm. Not hot. "Stilling it has the opposite effect."
As she'd thought. Well. She'd tried.
Also, she'd been paying attention this time.
Also also… What?
"... That was water chakra? Really?" Hinata looked down at her cup. It didn't change as Sakura took a sip from hers with a contented sigh. "Wow."
Sakura wouldn't take it well if she said that sounded like a bloodline technique. Or that it was the sort of thing a prodigy would do.
Sakura would get upset… But that sounded like a bloodline. Or something a prodigy would do.
It did.
And Hinata didn't say it.
Just like how she hadn't pointed out that Sakura was being somewhat rude by making tea like this or using it in an experiment.
"It's very useful for when you want a hot drink on the road. And not at all difficult." Sakura agreed in her way…and this was an obvious distraction. Sakura didn't want to discuss what had happened and was changing the subject. Like normal. And, like normal, she was about to say or do something that would make Hinata uncomfortable- "I could teach it to you if you'd like?"
Never mind.
It was just a distraction; Sakura didn't want to discuss what bothered her, and Hinata no longer cared to ask.
Hinata nodded. Quickly, and as Sakura put her cup down. "Yes, p-please."
She shouldn't be here. But here she was, tripping over her feet, and Sakura gave her an out.
Sakura wasn't mad. And this was her idea of a peace offering.
The distraction gave her a reason to activate her eyes again. It gave her an excuse to shut up, listen, and stop making a squeaking, squirming fool of herself.
It let her see as Sakura's muscles broke down. Became liquid. Light. Liquid. Solid in a new form, ligaments coiling and stretching and chakra dancing as space tore beneath her skin and she cupped Hinata's hands.
And Hinata forgot how to breathe.
…Sakura was holding her hands.
She was holding her hands.
Eeeeeeee-
"Watch. And do what I do." She gave Hinata's hands a gentle squeeze and a reassuring smile. "And all it'll take is practice."
Eh?
Wha?
Hinata hiccupped as her heart felt like it had just tried to leave her body through her mouth. And she did so again, her eyes going wide…wider. As wide as they could go as Sakura's chakra, the very essence of water moved around her hands.
Over.
In and through, the pink-haired girl's body and soul intermingled with Hinata's, the most intimate thing she could imagine - She felt light. Like she was floating…and there was a roar in her ears that only ended as Sakura hummed, and some of that water dispersed into Hinata's body even as the rest sank into her cup.
Hinata blinked, licking her lips. "Uh…?"
"Everything comes back to water," Sakura explained, explaining nothing at all...just like normal. "Watch."
Hinata watched.
She looked, eyes straining… She found it—the rest of Sakura's chakra. And there was barely anything left.
It was the barest touch. It was so little chakra that Hinata hardly believed it could do anything, even as her vision narrowed. Deepened…saw the weird things, the bubbles and chains that made the world and everything in it as they began to shake.
"Do it slow if all you have is a cup. So it doesn't boil over."
The shaking began to speed up, chakra dancing between those bubbles and chains as if it were bouncing… Because it was. It bounced and forced everything around it to do the same as it struck them, noticeably warming the palms of her hands as Sakura continued to warm their backs with hers.
"And hold them still if you want it cooled. But not too much unless you like it cold… Again. Watch."
Sakura's chakra halted , thousands beyond thousands of strands linking it to everything it had touched now visible to Hinata's eyes…leashes. Bindings stopped them all, making Hinata flinch as she was left holding a cup full of…
"Is - this ice?" Hinata wheezed as she pulled back, vision widening. "This is ice."
Sakura had just turned her tea into ice, further mangling any traces of hospitality she hadn't already.
It was ice…and Hinata had no idea where even to begin doing that herself. She wasn't even the right elements for this.
Fire? Lightning? That wasn't what she needed to do what Sakura had done… How did you even mold water chakra anyway? Simple her butt.
She couldn't do this.
"Yes. Yes, it is. Useful, like I said." Sakura beamed, pleased with herself and still holding Hinata's hands . "Summer will be much more pleasant this year, I think." She hummed again, her smile growing. "How about you try?"
"... Uh... Try?" Hinata looked at her cup. Clay. Ice. A tea bag with its corner sticking out the top of it like a white flag on a sinking ship…and she found it easy to empathize with it. Distress. She was feeling it. "Okay. Just-"
Sakura had too much faith in her. Or too little in herself. Or both.
…Someone really should tell her that. Someone not her, not right now.
Water began to bead on the outside of the cup, so cold it bit into her fingers.
This wasn't easy. This wasn't simple. It may have been the most impressive example of chakra manipulation that Hinata had ever seen.
This was too much. She was too much.
Sakura's brows rose, but she said nothing as Hinata gently freed her hands to put the cup on the table.
And she still said nothing, only stiffening in surprise as Hinata turned in her seat to give her a hug…then relaxed; wrapped her arms around Hinata in turn, enveloping her in vanilla and lavender while the smaller girl buried her face into Sakura's chest with a shuddering breath.
Hinata hadn't taken Sakura up on that hug earlier. But right now, she really felt like she needed one.
" It was beautiful ."
==========
Ino's mother raised a delicate eyebrow.
Ino, for her part, ignored both her mother - and the fork she'd squeezed so tightly in a single hand that it would never be the same again: Bent metal and splintered wood fell from her grasp into the sink as she seethed.
Why? Why was she seething?
She didn't know why. She just was.
Ino picked up another fork and carefully cleaned it as she ground her teeth.
What she did know was that punching someone sounded great right now.
And that made no sense at all.