By evening, Temari, utterly exhausted, refused Teizawa's request to stay with him for the night.
When Teizawa pushed open the gate to his small courtyard, the sky had already gone completely dark.
The courtyard was not large. A few drought-resistant shrubs grew inside it.
In one corner, a pile of strange stones collected from the desert had been stacked together.
Warm yellow light spilled from the living room window, casting a soft square of brightness across the ground.
He changed his shoes and walked into the living room.
A faint aroma of rice greeted him.
Hinata and Karin were sitting properly beside the low table.
Several plates had been arranged on the table.
Onigiri, pickled vegetables, and a bowl of miso soup. Simple and plain, but set out neatly.
The onigiri had been shaped in different ways.
Some were round, some triangular, and some had even been decorated with little animals cut from nori.
Hinata lifted her head. Her face was red, and her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
"Kazekage-sama, the onigiri are ready."
Karin pushed up her glasses.
She did not look at Teizawa.
Her gaze remained fixed on the onigiri on the table, while her fingers twisted unconsciously against her knees.
Teizawa walked over and sat down beside the low table.
His gaze swept over the onigiri.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"You two made these?"
Hinata nodded, and her face turned even redder.
"W-We don't really know how to cook, so we only made these… I don't know whether they'll suit your taste."
Teizawa picked up an onigiri and took a bite.
The rice was cooked just right, and the saltiness was perfect.
The fresh flavor of the nori spread across his tongue.
He nodded, swallowed, and said, "It's good."
Hinata's eyes brightened.
The corners of Karin's mouth also lifted despite herself.
Teizawa picked up another one.
He finished it in a few bites, then drank a mouthful of miso soup.
It was not some rare delicacy.
But it was the most human meal he had eaten since coming to Suna.
After dinner, Teizawa put down his chopsticks, leaned back against the chair, and glanced across Hinata and Karin's faces.
"Full?"
Both of them nodded.
"Then go take a bath and get ready for bed."
He stood, stretched, then suddenly said, "Should we wash together?"
The air froze.
Hinata's face instantly flushed scarlet.
The blush spread from her cheeks to her ears, then all the way down her neck.
Even her fingertips turned pink.
Her mouth opened and closed, closed and opened again.
Not a single word came out.
It felt as if ten thousand butterflies had burst loose inside her mind.
Karin was not much better.
Behind her lenses, her eyes widened into circles.
A red flush spread across her face like burning clouds at sunset.
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
Her fingers clutched at the edge of her clothes.
They had slept beside him before.
But that had only been while wearing pajamas.
At most, there had been contact through clothing.
But bathing together now?
Wouldn't that mean…
She did not dare think any further.
"K-Kazekage-sama…" Hinata's voice was dry, as though there were sand in her throat. "H-How could that be all right…"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Teizawa tilted his head and looked at her, his expression innocent. "We're all on the same side. What's there to be afraid of?"
Hinata lowered her head, wishing she could crawl into a crack in the floor.
Karin bit her lip.
In her heart, she cursed Teizawa eight hundred times over.
But she did not dare say a single word out loud.
Teizawa looked at their reactions and laughed.
"Fine. I was teasing you."
He paused. "I'll wash first. You two can go after me."
With that, he turned and walked toward the bathroom.
Hinata breathed out in relief.
Her whole body seemed to lose its strength at once, and she sank onto the tatami.
Karin removed her glasses and wiped the lenses, her face still bright red.
Her heartbeat had yet to return to normal.
The two looked at each other and saw the same post-disaster relief in one another's eyes.
In the bathroom, Teizawa took off his clothes and stepped into the bath.
Suna had once been short on water.
But with the seawater desalination technology under Gaara's responsibility gradually progressing, the village no longer lacked water as badly as before.
There was more than enough for something like a bath.
His home even had a small bathing pool.
Hot water rose over his chest, and he let out a comfortable sigh.
He leaned against the side of the bath and closed his eyes to rest.
All kinds of thoughts churned through his mind.
The Sky Ninja Village ruins. The Ryūmyaku. The eye inside Naruto. Obito. The Akatsuki.
And the puppet forces, aerial forces, and mechanized forces currently under construction.
His fingers gently traced circles across the surface of the water.
Ripples spread outward, one ring after another.
After a while, faint footsteps came from outside the door.
Teizawa opened his eyes and listened.
The footsteps stopped outside the bathroom.
Silence lingered for a long time.
Then the door was gently pushed open.
Hinata stood in the doorway, wearing a thin bathrobe. Her head was lowered, and her face was as red as a boiled shrimp.
She clutched a towel in her hands.
Her whole body looked like a fragile sapling swaying in the wind.
Karin stood behind her, wearing the same kind of bathrobe.
She had removed her glasses.
A pair of bright blue eyes was revealed, though her gaze kept darting away, unable to meet Teizawa's.
Teizawa paused, then smiled.
"Come in."
The two girls exchanged a glance, then shuffled awkwardly into the bathroom.
They crouched beside the bath, keeping their backs to Teizawa.
Neither dared look at him.
Hinata's fingers twisted unconsciously around her towel.
Karin's ears were so red they looked ready to drip blood.
"Didn't you say we should wash together?" Teizawa's voice came from behind them, carrying a trace of amusement. "Why are you staying over there?"
Hinata bit her lip and took a deep breath.
It was as if she had made an enormous decision.
She stepped carefully toward the bath, keeping herself wrapped modestly in her towel, and entered the water.
The hot water rose past her calves, knees, and thighs.
She sat down at the farthest point from Teizawa.
Curling up, she hugged her knees and buried her face against them.
Karin followed her, moving even more slowly.
Every step seemed as though she were measuring some invisible distance.
When she stepped into the bath, her foot slipped.
She nearly fell.
Flustered, she grabbed the edge of the bath to steady herself, splashing water everywhere.
Then she sat down beside Hinata.
The two of them squeezed together.
The bath was not large. With three people inside, the space was only just enough.
Teizawa leaned against one side of the pool.
Hinata and Karin huddled at the other.
An arm's length separated the three of them, like three parallel lines.
Steam rose and blurred their vision.
Hinata lifted her head from between her knees and secretly glanced at Teizawa, then immediately lowered her head again.
She saw his shoulders and the vague outline of muscle above the water.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She buried her face even deeper.
Karin hugged her knees, her gaze fixed on the surface of the water.
She watched the ripples drift and overlap.
Her thoughts were a mess.
She did not know what she was thinking.
She did not even know what she should be thinking.
She only felt very hot.
Not because of the water.
Her whole body felt hot.
"Come here."
Teizawa's voice was soft, but in the quiet bathroom it sounded especially clear.
Hinata's body trembled slightly.
She did not move.
Karin did not move either.
Teizawa did not urge them. He only waited quietly.
Steam rose between them, blurring each other's faces.
After a long time, Karin moved first.
She slowly released her knees, stood from the water, and walked toward Teizawa step by step.
Water splashed around her feet with soft, sloshing sounds.
She sat down beside him.
There was still a fist's width of distance between them.
Her head remained lowered.
She did not dare look at him.
Teizawa reached out, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and gently drew her closer.
Karin's body went taut as a fully drawn bow.
But after a while, she slowly relaxed and leaned against his shoulder.
Hinata was still curled up on the other side of the bath.
One eye peeked out from between her knees as she secretly watched them.
Her heart was pounding like a drum.
Two voices seemed to be fighting inside her mind.
One said, Go over. It's fine.
The other said, No. It's too embarrassing.
In the end, the voice telling her to go over won.
Hinata stood from the water.
Lowering her head, she walked over one step at a time and sat on Teizawa's other side.
Teizawa reached out and drew her into his arms.
Then he pressed a light kiss to her forehead.
"Good girl."
Hinata buried her face against his chest and closed her eyes.
She did not dare look at Karin.
She did not dare look at him either.
She only listened to his steady, powerful heartbeat.
She felt his hand pat her back lightly.
As though coaxing a child.
Steam filled the air, blurring the silhouettes of all three.
Candlelight flickered in the corner, casting overlapping shadows across the wall.
No one spoke.
There was only the faint sound of rippling water.
And the breathing of three people mingling together.
After a long while, Hinata's muffled voice came from Teizawa's chest.
"Kazekage-sama…"
"Mm."
"Will you… always be good to us?"
Teizawa was silent for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"As long as you behave."
Hinata did not ask anything more.
She buried her face deeper.
Karin leaned against Teizawa's shoulder, closed her eyes, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
Steam drifted through the room. Candlelight swayed.
The night was quiet and warm.
Outside the window, the moon quietly emerged from behind the clouds.
Its light fell upon the small courtyard.
It fell upon the window glowing with lamplight.
The night was still long.
(End of Chapter)
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