The situation was turning a bit awkward, totally different from what they had imagined.
Ino turned her head away, while Hinata looked down at her shoes.
"Hmph!" Ino turned her head with a huff.
Naruto wasn't too worried about Ino objecting, after all, she even had a key to his place. As for Hinata, he didn't force her, but no matter what, she had braved the rain out of concern for him.
If she was too shy, he could always offer some medicine to ward off the cold.
Fortunately, the rain didn't last long, otherwise, before they even reached the mountain top, Ino and Hinata would have been completely soaked. Right now, the most important thing was to take a warm bath, drive away the chill, and wrap themselves in a blanket.
Only then would Naruto's guilt ease a bit.
"This place is not far from the village. If we rush back now, mine is indeed the closest place." Naruto said with a rare look of concern, "The Hyuga Clan's compound and Yamanaka Flower Shop are too far from here."
"Besides, I have everything you need, and also, there are two of you and three of us, so there's nothing to worry about. You're not going to let shyness make you catch a cold just to tough it out and go home, are you?"
"Sweet talker! Hinata, let's go. Don't believe this foot fetishist!!" Ino grabbed Hinataand was about to leave.
Hearing this, Naruto's face darkened and he immediately grabbed Ino.
"Let me go." Ino's body trembled, and without realizing it, her voice carried a hint of vulnerability.
"Not this time."
Naruto sighed in his heart. He really wanted to be a good guy, but reality always seemed to force his hand. He exhaled and stared at Ino's face for a while.
"Ino, you wouldn't want to…"
Before he could finish, Ino was already upset, 'Damn it! He had too much leverage over me. I had no choice but to give in!'
"Don't say another word!" Ino was a little overwhelmed. She let go of Hinata, covered her head, and gritted her teeth in frustration.
Seeing that his goal was achieved, Naruto couldn't help but grin, and then, he turned to look at Hinata.
"Hinata, what about you?"
"I…" Hinata hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded in agreement.
This surprised Naruto a little. Ino also glanced at Hinata, her eyes showing a mix of surprise and jealousy.
…
With a clatter, the apartment door lock turned.
Kurama, sprawled lazily on the sofa, groggily raised his head, squinting like a middle-aged man with a hangover as he peered outside. Then, he saw the familiar blonde hair.
There were also two girls with familiar faces, both of whom he had seen before.
Kurama's heart sank and he cursed in his mind, "That brat isn't seriously planning to make me do backflips, is he? And with two at once? What a beast! He's getting too wild!"
Thankfully, Naruto paid no attention to Kurama lying around and headed straight into the bathroom to run some hot water.
Hinata, who was standing outside the door, blushed deeply. She bowed slightly at the entrance and closed her eyes, muttering a soft 'excuse me' before stepping inside. But when she looked up, she saw that Ino was already comfortably changing her shoes at the entrance.
The moment their eyes met, the atmosphere became a little awkward.
Hinata lowered her head, walked into the entrance, and forced a smile. She lowered her head and silently changed her shoes. The wet clothes stuck to her body, but not becoming see-through.
Ino's feet were long, slender, and slightly delicate, with a fair, pinkish hue. As they stepped steadily onto the floor, they were the kind of feet that could almost be considered picture-perfect. Hinata's feet, on the other hand, were more like jade, small and plump, with a texture as smooth as mutton-fat jade.
The moment the two of them stepped onto the floor barefoot, Naruto had just finished adjusting the water temperature and walked out. When he saw this breathtaking sight, he couldn't take his eyes off it.
"Ah!" Hinata, feeling shy, instinctively stepped back behind Ino.
Naruto finally came back to his senses and couldn't help but chuckled awkwardly. He cleared his throat and said, "Uh, sorry, the floor isn't cleaned properly. My bad."
"Tsk!" Ino looked at him with contempt and said sarcastically, "Is it the floor that's not clean, or is it your dirty mind?"
"Die, you foot fetishist!"
Naruto: "…"
"Go take a bath first. It's best if you bathe together since you're both girls. If you wait any longer, one of you is bound to catch a cold."
"Mind your own business!" Ino pulled Hinata towards the bathroom, "You'd better stay away from the bathroom, you pervert. Don't eavesdrop, and don't imagine dirty things in your mind."
"Don't worry, I won't." Naruto responded lazily, "I have no interest in doing anything like that."
Hinata, who was being dragged away, blushed furiously, 'Listening to them take a bath? That kind of thing... Uhhh!' It's not that she hated the idea, but she had no concept of such things.
Or rather, she couldn't even imagine Naruto…
"Hey!" Ino suddenly turned around before entering the bathroom and shouted at Naruto, "What about you?"
"What about me?"
"You're soaked too. If you don't take a bath, you'll catch a cold." Ino said with a frown.
"So, can I join you girls?"
"Go to hell!"
"I'll just change into some dry clothes." Naruto waved his hand dismissively and turned to walk towards the room.
Kurama, who is lying motionless on its little sofa, watched the situation unfold and felt increasingly uneasy. He had already prepared a few excuses to refuse Naruto's request for backflips.
Maybe he can say that his legs are hurting, or he's in a bad mood today, or some other reason that were impossible to argue with.
In the bathroom, Ino was sorting the wet clothes and tossing them into the washing machine, while setting aside some delicate items that needed to be hand-washed. There's heater in the bathroom, so it wasn't cold at all.
Just as she was about to hop into the bathtub after a quick shower, she noticed Hinata standing there, drenched and unmoving.
"What's wrong, Hinata?" Ino walked up to Hinata and reached out to touch her forehead, "Are you feeling unwell?"
"Ah, no." Hinata's face was flushed with embarrassment. She glanced at Ino nervously, and said, "I feel fine."
"Huh?" Ino looked at Hinata curiously, "Your clothes are soaked through. If you don't change out of them, you'll catch a cold."
"I-I…" Hinata looked embarrassed and said in a low voice, "I'm too shy."
"What's there to be shy about? Aren't we both girls?" Ino smiled, "See? I don't feel embarrassed at all. Trust me, just change out of them, or you'll get sick."
Hearing this, Hinata looked at Ino and nodded.
Hinata imitated Ino's actions, tossing her outer clothes into the washing machine and setting aside the delicate items. She walked to the shower head somewhat embarrassedly and sat on the small stool with her eyes half closed.
The mist-filled bathroom had two small stools and one showerhead. Ino and Hinata took turns lathering up with shampoo and conditioner, washing their hair.
After washing their hair, they carefully lathered their bodies with shower gel, rinsed off, and then got into the bath. The tub was large enough to accommodate both of them.
It took over half an hour just for them to wash their hair and bodies, during which they chatted about various girly topics.
When Ino's curious gaze fell on a certain part of Hinata's body, Hinata instinctively crossed her arms and her face flushed bright red.