Play it cool and act like mixed bathing was no big deal

Sakura's eyes darted between Naruto, who didn't even pretend that he wasn't staring at her small, developing breasts, and Hinata, who was too busy blushing and staring at Naruto's bare chest to faint at the realization that she was only wearing a towel in front of her crush.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go! Sasuke was supposed to be the only man who ever saw her naked body!

Sakura had never been so acutely aware of her body before. She could feel a breeze wafting across her pink nipples and through the sparse patch of cotton-candy coloured pubic hair on her mons, which hadn't yet grown in enough to do anything to hide the tight slit of her labia from view. Her bubble butt, which she considered her best feature, was hidden only because Naruto was at the wrong angle to see it – if she turned and ran, then he'd have experienced a 360 degree view of her bare body.

Running wasn't an option, though. If this ever got back to Ino-pig (and with Naruto's loud mouth, it was pretty likely that it would), then she'd never live it down if she ran off shrieking. The only way she could get out of this with her reputation even slightly intact would be if she took the bull by the horns and pretended it was her idea all along. At least if Naruto got used to seeing her naked, then without the mystique that clothes provided he might appreciate the dark-haired girl next to her a little more. As much as she hated to admit it, compared to her coltish figure Hinata was a bombshell.

With her decision made, Sakura called on all of her Academy infiltration training to pretend that she wasn't mortified by this entire situation. Taking all of the feelings of humiliation and fear that were rushing through her head, she dumped them deep down inside to her Inner Sakura (who was wailing about how she'd never be married now), just as she'd done dozens of times before when she needed to hide her emotions. One thought flashed through her mind as she prepared to bullshit her way through this nightmare: 'Hinata owes me big for doing this.'

Sakura theatrically rolled her eyes (not that Naruto noticed, since he was sharing his time between looking at her breasts and glancing down at her sparse bush) as she rested her right fist on her bare hip, subtly pushing her small chest forward a little to give her the illusion of relaxed confidence. “Geez, and you're wearing a towel too, Naruto?” she asked in an exasperated tone. “Just because it's mixed bathing day doesn't mean that taking a towel into the bath is the right thing to do.”

Naruto blinked as those words (and the lack of **** from the Pinkett) pierced through the sexual fog he'd been in from the first moment of seeing his crush's cute naked body. While Sakura might have doubts about her slim figure's attractiveness, he certainly didn't. “Wait, what? Mixed bathing?” His eyes reluctantly moved up from Sakura's pretty little tits to register the exasperated but unusually non-angry expression on his teammate's face. “You mean you arranged this date knowing that we'd be sharing the bath?”

Sakura growled. “We're not on a date, idiot!” Composing herself, she rolled her eyes (and this time, Naruto even noticed) as she added, “Besides, what's wrong with mixed bathing? It's been a tradition of Fire Country since before the First Hokage. Sharing a bath together is one of the best ways for people to build a rapport. If we can't even trust each other to act properly when we're naked, then how will we trust each other with our lives when we're fighting together as teammates?”

At that moment she was actually a little glad that she was talking to Naruto and not Sasuke. Her dark-haired teammate would have never swallowed the bullshit she was shoveling. Thankfully Naruto was far more socially naïve. If she was being uncharitable she could even say that he was as dumb as a wheelbarrow full of bricks. And she wasn't feeling too charitable to a boy who'd spent the last couple of minutes memorizing her naked body well enough to make a Henge copy of it. God knows what the pervert would be doing with his clones and his 'Sexy Jutsu' when he got home tonight, but she bet her cloned image would be featuring prominently in whatever perverse fantasies he'd enact.

“Oh. Okay.” Naruto blinked. He wasn't sure about the logic his teammate was using, but he sure as hell wasn't going to ruin the best day of his short life by arguing with her about it. After a moment's pause, though, he couldn't help but ask, “But what does Hinata have to do with this, then?”

Sakura looked over at Hinata, who was blushing beet-red.

Seemingly finally realizing that she only had a thin cotton cover between herself and her crush, Hinata let out an “Eep!” and turned to rush back to the Girl's changing room.

Sakura, however, was having none of that. If Naruto was going to add her naked body to his spank bank, then there was no way in hell she was letting Hinata out of this until her blonde teammate caught a clue and realized that the Hyūga girl was the better one for him. Her hand desperately shot out at speeds that would have raised her Academy marks raise a few notches, clasping around Hinata's hand in a manically strong grasp and stopping the girl from running away.

The only way Hinata was getting out of this would be if she gnawed her own arm off. Something that the girl was quickly starting to consider as Naruto eyed her towel-clad form.

Original Chapter by AkaB