Once morning came, everyone woke up. After freshening up, they each ate a little rations for breakfast.
"Shota, wake me up for lunch." Zeyu yawned and slowly lay down, ready to go back to sleep.
"Oh, okay, big bro. What should we do now?" Shota asked.
"Hmm... do whatever you want. Just don't wander off alone." Zeyu closed his eyes and replied indifferently.
Shota thought for a while and scratched his head. He couldn't think of anything to do, so he asked again,
"Big bro, can you help me come up with something?"
Zeyu grew a little impatient. He waved him away, turned his back, and said,
"Oh, just go meditate, then. Don't push yourself too hard."
"Ah, good idea! Big bro really is the best," Shota said, sitting cross-legged on his bedroll to meditate.
"Then I'll join you too, Shota," Hinata said.
"Mm, Megumi should join us too. It'll be good practice," Shota said.
"Okay," Megumi replied.
Then the three of them sat side by side.
Kiba and Shino, sitting nearby, looked at them in confusion.
"What are you guys doing?" Kiba asked.
"We're meditating. Big bro said it can improve our mental strength and make controlling chakra much easier," Shota explained with his eyes closed.
"That amazing? Teach me—I'll give it a try too." As Kiba spoke, he had already copied Shota's pose and sat down.
"Mm, I'll try it too," Shino said, sitting down with them.
"First, sit down and close your eyes. Calm your mind, then gather some chakra inside your body. Control it as it flows through you—your organs, meridians, muscles, and pressure points, even every inch of your skin. Basically, move it through every part of your body." As Shota explained, he began practicing himself.
"I see. It sounds pretty simple," Kiba said with a confident smile. Akamaru, who had been perched on his head, jumped down and sat beside him.
When Shota heard Kiba call it simple, cold sweat ran down his face. He said,
"Simple? Try it first, then you'll see if it's simple or not."
"Kiba, remember to gather only a little chakra the first time. Otherwise, you'll get exhausted," Hinata added.
"Okay, watch me." Kiba closed his eyes and began meditating.
The five of them sat in a row. After a long while, sweat had begun to bead on all their faces.
At last, Kiba was the first to give up. Panting, he lay down.
"Ah, my head hurts. I feel so tired," Kiba said, clutching his head.
"Didn't you listen to the warning? Serves you right!" Megumi said, her brow furrowed and her face covered in sweat, though she was still hanging on.
"Shh, keep your voices down. Zeyu-kun is still sound asleep," Hinata reminded them softly.
Then Shota couldn't hold on any longer either. He lay down and groaned through gritted teeth, keeping his voice low.
Kiba turned his head and saw that Shino was still holding on. He asked quietly,
"Shino, how are you feeling?"
"Mm, it's difficult, but this method should be very useful." Shino's brow was furrowed too, and sweat ran down his face.
Kiba turned to Shota and asked,
"How long have you been practicing? You're amazing."
Shota rubbed his temples and replied,
"If I remember right, big sis was the first to practice. It was when we signed up for the exam. We kept pestering Zeyu, and he finally taught us this."
When Hinata heard Shota call her big sis, her cheeks flushed. She glanced shyly at Zeyu, who was snoring away nearby.
"Eh? How long has Zeyu been practicing?" Kiba asked again.
Shota didn't know either, so he looked at Hinata and asked,
"I don't know. Do you know, big sis?"
"Zeyu-kun said he'd been practicing since he was little. It seemed like he kept at it all last night too," Hinata said.
Shota and Kiba looked at Zeyu sleeping with astonished, disbelieving expressions, their hearts filled with admiration.
Gaara, farther away, was also surprised when he heard their conversation.
He's been training like this since he was little. No wonder he can use that kind of technique, Gaara thought.
So he decided to try it himself, to see if it would help him control the sand better.
Following what he had just heard, he copied the others and sat on the ground to meditate.
Time passed little by little. Shino eventually couldn't hold on any longer, followed by Megumi, and finally Hinata gave in too. One by one, they all lay down.
"Whew, you're impressive, Hinata," Megumi said, looking at her.
"Not really, Megumi. I've just been practicing for longer," Hinata replied.
After taking a couple of breaths, she added,
"By the way, Shino, you have a real knack for this. You did it for so long on your first try. That's amazing."
"It's nothing. I was just lucky," Shino replied, panting.
"Stop being so modest. Have a little confidence," Megumi said.
"Ah... mm, thanks," Shino replied.
Once they finished practicing, everyone was a little tired. They lay quietly with their eyes closed, resting.
Hinata turned onto her side and looked at Zeyu, who was lying there sound asleep.
Unable to resist, she moved closer and pinched his cheek.
Hehe, so soft and cute, Hinata thought.
Feeling something on his face in his sleep, Zeyu casually reached up and scratched at it, catching Hinata's hand.
Hinata jumped in fright. She quickly propped herself up to check whether she had woken Zeyu, and didn't dare move with her hand caught in his.
Zeyu rolled onto his side to face Hinata. His hand gave an unconscious squeeze, landing right on her chest.
"E-e-e-eek? Zeyu-kun!" Hinata's face turned bright red, but she didn't dare make a sound. She covered her mouth with her other hand.
In his sleep, Zeyu felt that he had grabbed something soft. Frowning in confusion, he gave it another squeeze.
"Ah, Zeyu-kun, don't..." Hinata couldn't help letting out a soft moan. She hurriedly covered her mouth again and looked at Zeyu with sultry eyes.
"? Hinata, what's wrong?" Megumi, who was right beside her, had heard her cry out and asked.
Hinata steadied herself, turned her face away, and whispered,
"Ah, it's nothing. I was covering Zeyu-kun with a blanket and accidentally touched him. I was afraid I'd wake him."
"Tch, that deadbeat. He's so lucky to have met a girl as kind as you, Hinata," Megumi said.
"Well... Zeyu-kun is very kind to me too, and he's nice to everyone else, isn't he?" Hinata said, enduring Zeyu's squeezes as she spoke.
"Hmph. We're only benefiting from your kindness, Hinata," Megumi said, turning her back.
Just then, Zeyu let go of Hinata's hand and brought both hands into play, squeezing and kneading while his brow remained furrowed.
Hinata quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Her body tingled all over, and the arm propping her up began to tremble. She was about to lose control. She tried to push Zeyu's hand away with her other hand, but she couldn't summon the strength.
"Don't... Zeyu-kun... I... can't... hold on..."
But Zeyu was still asleep and showed no sign of stopping. His hands kept exploring.
As if struck by lightning, Hinata pressed her lips tightly together. Her body was already drenched in sweat, and she suddenly kissed Zeyu.
I'm sorry, Zeyu-kun. I can't stop myself from crying out, but I mustn't... so this is the only way, Hinata thought, closing her eyes.
A moment later, she pulled away. A thread of saliva stretched between their lips before breaking. Hinata lay weakly beside him, breathing softly.
After Hinata moved away, Zeyu settled down too. He licked his lips, rolled onto his back, and continued sleeping.
Hinata turned to look at Zeyu, her gaze smoldering. She placed both hands over her chest and thought,
Looks like Zeyu-kun likes this. Maybe next time, when we have some time... but not yet.
Before long, Gaara finished meditating too.
He leaned against the wall and rubbed his temples.
This is bad. I pushed myself too hard. I'm exhausted.
I'll rest for a while, Gaara thought, folding his arms as he rested.
Hmm? Hehe, my chance has come! Seeing that the moment was near, Shukaku stopped talking and quietly waited for Gaara to fall asleep from exhaustion.
Sure enough, before long, Gaara slowly began to doze off, too tired to stay in control.
Shukaku struck at once and easily took control of Gaara's body. A cruel grin spread across his face, and his pupils turned sandy yellow with cross-shaped eyes. He slowly rose to his feet.
Zeyu, who had been sleeping soundly, sensed the intense killing intent and abruptly woke up. He flipped to his feet, placing a hand on the short sword at his waist.
Sure enough, the next moment, Gaara, controlled by Shukaku, burst into laughter as sand rose up around him.
"Kehehehehe! Wonderful! I can finally come out!"