Ino stashed the last of clothes in the small, head-height locker. It was deep, sure, but not much wider than three widths of her hand in any direction. Not exactly spacious but, hey, onsen had to save money somehow, right? One last fold in her long skirt packed it just small enough to fit inside. On top of the little pile she'd already made. She'd done this before and she knew how to arrange her clothes. Skirt on top, shoes on bottom. All the delicate bits like her underwear and her earrings stayed nice and concealed in the middle.
Perverts in the women's hotsprings weren't a huge problem anymore. What with Jiraiya's passing (bless that old lecher) and all. But it didn't hurt to be careful. Of course, some people here weren't so experienced when it came to relaxation.
"Oh come on. Stupid dress, get in there." Her friend grumbled.
Sakura fought to stuff her trademark red dress into the tiny locker. Quite literally trying to fist it in there. Wadded up like a dirty towel, her dress took up most of the space. There was hardly any room left for her pants and sandals. She hadn't even gotten her underwear off yet.
Ino leaned around her locker door. "Want some help there, Sakura?"
"I'm fine. I'm fine. I can figure this out . It's just this stupid locker won't—"
Pomf!
One last punch from Sakura sealed her fate. The walls of the tiny locker bulged, like a cannon primed to fire. And her shoes served as the shot. The range was short, but she had her face right up in it.
Smack! Smack!
She got a double helping of rubber sole square in the face.
"Sakura?" Ino asked, concerned.
Sakura peeled her sandals off her face. "You know what? Yes, I do need help. Stupid locker."
Ino smiled and shook her head. Sakura turned out more and more like her mentor every day. Complete with workaholism. A complimentary padlock sealed her clothes away from the outside world. Once that was done. She sauntered over to her best friend. Right behind her.
Sakura looked at her gratefully, until she realized Ino was as naked as the day she was born. She blushed bright red and one-eightied right back around.
"U-um. You know what I think I've figured this out you don't have to get so close oh god you're naked— Eep!"
Ino giggled at her friend's antics. She knew exactly how hot she was. Blessed doubly by her clan's electrum hair and her mother's hourglass figure. A classical blonde beauty in every sense. If she'd been born in more peaceful times. To a less militarized family, she could've been a model. Not one of those onlyfans sluts either. An honest to god fashion model.
Ino reached around Sakura and plucked her dress free with the greatest ease. Then dropped it into Sakura's shaky little hands. Then she worked her magic. Ino cradled Sakura's hands with her own, and guided her through the motions. Precise and efficient, they folded her dress together. Lengthwise once in half and then a second time. Then a simple fold along the width. Sakura saw her dress vanish into a tiny maroon square.
"There, see? Nice and easy." Ino purred.
They did her pants next, and Ino hummed while they worked. A simple, wholesome little tune. Right next to her friend's flushed ear. Before Sakura could protest, she trailed her fingers up Sakura's toned arms. Across her shoulders. And down into the cleft between them. It was hard to tell normally, but Sakura was quite a strong girl. Nicely fit for her age.
But then, that made her choice of bra even more ironic.
""my small horsie", huh? That's cute."
"Th-that's not my fault. A-all the A-cup bras are made for preteens." Sakura stammered. If this were an anime, steam would be wafting off her head.
"Hey, don't be embarrassed. Nobody's judging you here." Ino tickled her under the chin. A weak spot only she knew about.
Sakura managed her bra on her own. But the panties were a bigger struggle. They basically had to roll them down her fit thighs. Unlike her top undergarments, her bottoms were very adult. Utilitarian and far from childish. Sakura didn't bother with stylish panties (heresy!). Black spandex was good enough for her. It was either that or thongs. Her meaty backside had a bad habit of shredding regular girly underwear like rice paper.
"You know you're beautiful, right?" Ino reminded her.
"Yeah, sure. Beautiful." Sakura cupped her tiny mosquito bites. Totally oblivious to all the muscly rump meat she lugged around. Ino nibbled her lip.
Dat ass. Mmm!
"Don't sell yourself short. I hear Sasuke's an ass man." Ino pressed her palms to Sakura's fat ass.
She yelped but didn't push her away.
"P-pervert. This' what I get for having a bisexual best friend."
"Flatterer." Ino pinched Sakura's tight bottom. "Now let's go relax, huh? You need it bad."
"…Yeah. Relax. Relaxing sounds good."
They locked up the rest of her clothes and sauntered to the exit. Tastefully nude and sweaty in the ambient steam. Sakura kept her eyes straight ahead and back ramrod straight. For fear of getting an eyeful of a naked bather. Ino, by contrast, let her eyes wander, respectfully of course.
When a pair of brunette civilians entered and flocked past them. Both women reverted to type. Still, they overheard the chatter just the same.
"Good god what an obnoxious little—" The first woman began.
"Ahem!" The second cleared her throat.
"—witch. But you know I'm right, Mina."
"It's still rude to say. Even if it is true. I don't know who raised that young lady but they were fools not to spank her."
"Careful, she looks like the type to enjoy that sort of thing."
Mina pulled a face. "Ew. Don't put that image in my head…"
The conversation trailed off with them. Ino and Sakura paused, looked at each other, and shrugged. But as they passed the last row of lockers, one last thing caught their eye.
"Hey, looks like I wasn't the only one having trouble." Sakura pointed one locker out.
The little cubby stood starkly half-open. A heavy purple coat bulged around the ajar door. Which had been tied to the lock with a bit of string. Whoever the hapless bather had been, she'd taped a note to the door. Curious, Ino sauntered over a peeled it off.
HANDS OFF BITCHES!!! The note said in all caps. With a crude diagram of a sharp-toothed and very female stick figure flipping her the double bird. Very female because of the two massive circles it had in place of shoulders. Breasts, probably. Grimacing, Ino took the note back to Sakura.
"Jeez, and I thought you were tacky." Sakura snickered.
"Hey hey, I'm your best friend." Ino playfully smacked her on the shoulder.
Sakura laughed. "And I'm invoking my best friend privileges when I say you're a tacky slut. Little miss rhinestone earrings."
Ino flushed. Opened her mouth. And closed it again. "Okay, fair. But only if you admit they make me look fucking hot."
"…Alright, true."
"And way classier than whoever the hell wrote this thing."
Sakura nodded sagely. "So much more. Shall we?" She jerked her head toward the exit.
"Yeah, let's. And let's hope we don't run into whoever this is." Ino dumped the crumpled note in a nearby trash can.
She hoped in vain.