Unlocking Hinata's New Form

"Good grief, I can't even get a peaceful night's sleep," Zeyu muttered with a yawn as he headed toward the restroom.

He rounded the corner and collided right into Megumi and Hinata, who were on their way back.

The two were carrying a bucket of water together, and Hinata was cradling a pile of clothes she had changed out of, the pair chatting as they walked.

Hinata stumbled straight into Zeyu's arms, and her grip on the bucket handle slipped, causing it to tip toward her.

"Watch out!" Zeyu reacted instantly, wrapping his arms around Hinata and spinning around to shield her with his own body.

The bucket hit the ground with a loud thud, splashing water everywhere and soaking Zeyu's back.

"Phew... that was close. Are you alright, Hinata?" Zeyu let out a sigh of relief, looking down at the girl in his arms to ask.

"Mm, I'm fine," Hinata whispered, her hands resting on Zeyu's chest as she blushed.

She bit her lip, not daring to look up at him.

Zeyu noticed the tips of Hinata's ears were bright red and felt a bit puzzled, thinking to himself, What's wrong with her today? Why is she so shy all of a sudden? I haven't even done anything yet—why does she look like she can't even look at me?

He gently took hold of Hinata's hand and leaned down to meet her gaze.

"What's the matter? You're acting a bit strange today, Hinata," Zeyu asked.

Thinking back to her earlier conversation with Megumi and the others, Hinata felt even more embarrassed under Zeyu's scrutiny.

"It's... it's nothing," she replied, lowering her head as her face turned an even deeper shade of red.

"Hm? Could you have caught a cold?" Zeyu wondered, seeing how flushed her face was.

Without a second thought, he pulled off his forehead protector and tucked it into his pocket.

The next second, he pulled Hinata close, brushed her bangs aside, and pressed his forehead against hers.

"E-e-e-eh?! Zeyu-kun!" Hinata was startled, her hands fluttering in a panic.

"Hey! I'm still standing right here!" Megumi shouted, hands on her hips.

"Honestly, forget you two!" Megumi stomped her foot in frustration and walked off, carrying the bucket by herself.

Zeyu paid her no mind, closing his eyes to check if Hinata had a fever.

Hinata just stared at him, her pupils trembling; her right hand was still held in Zeyu's, and her palm was slick with sweat.

Because they were so close, she could easily catch the scent of him, and her heart began to race like a trapped deer.

After a short while, Zeyu pulled back.

"Doesn't seem like a fever. Thank goodness," Zeyu said, breaking into a happy smile.

Hinata's eyes were a bit hazy by now, and seeing Zeyu's smile, she summoned all her courage.

She pulled her hand free from his grip and interlaced her fingers with his.

"Zeyu-kun, my hands are a little sweaty... please don't mind it," Hinata said, leaning closer to him.

"It's fine, I wouldn't—" Zeyu started to say that he wouldn't mind, but he never got the chance.

Before he knew it, Hinata had pressed her lips against his, and a moment later, her soft tongue slipped inside.

Zeyu was stunned, looking at Hinata's flushed face and closed eyes, and couldn't help but think, What is going on? Since when did Hinata become so bold?

Since things had already reached this point, he had no choice but to close his eyes and respond.

Just then, Hinata used her left hand to grab Zeyu's wrist, guiding his hand toward her chest.

Zeyu gasped and opened his eyes, staring in disbelief at the face inches from his own, her long eyelashes looking incredibly beautiful.

After holding the position for a moment, he tentatively gave a gentle squeeze.

Feeling the sensation against her chest, Hinata let out a soft hum, a puff of warm breath escaping her lips.

Only then did they pull apart, looking at one another.

"Thank goodness. I was worried you wouldn't like it, Zeyu-kun," Hinata said shyly.

"I like everything about you, Hinata, but... this..."

"Is it too soon? Will it hurt?" Zeyu asked, his own face turning red.

Hinata laughed when she heard that.

"I knew you'd say that, Zeyu-kun. You're so gentle. I love you so much."

As she spoke, Hinata leaned into Zeyu's embrace and held him tight.

"It's okay, it doesn't hurt at all. As long as you like it, anything is fine," Hinata said.

Zeyu hugged her back, stroking the back of her head.

Just then, Hinata felt that Zeyu's back was completely soaked, and she grew anxious.

"Was it because of just now...? I'm so sorry, Zeyu-kun. You need to go change your clothes right away."

Afterward, since there were no other clothes available, Zeyu put on the tracksuit Hinata had changed out of, tying his forehead protector around his neck.

Zeyu walked out of the restroom, and Hinata, standing by the door, twisted the hem of her shirt and asked shyly with her head bowed, "Zeyu-kun, um... would you like to try again?"

"Uh... do you guys always live this well?" Shikamaru asked, looking at the steaming ramen before him.

"Seriously, if I'd known, I would've come to find you guys sooner," Choji said, shoveling ramen into his mouth.

"Hey, we still had to collect the scrolls first, Choji," Ino said, blowing on the noodles on her chopsticks.

"Well, you guys just happened to catch us at a good time. We only have ramen for dinner; we usually eat dry rations," Zeyu replied.

Since Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji had arrived just in time for dinner, Zeyu felt that since they were all classmates, he might as well invite them to eat; he had brought plenty of supplies anyway. As for Neji and his team, they had been eating with them every night since they arrived—after all, Neji was his brother-in-law.

"You've got to have something hot at night to sleep comfortably," Zeyu said after finishing his ramen.

"Zeyu-kun, you have something on your mouth," Hinata said, leaning in close to Zeyu and wiping his mouth with a tissue.

It was a small gesture, but everyone present stared at the two of them.

"Hey, hey, since when did Hinata become so bold?" Ino whispered to Shikamaru beside her, shielding her mouth with her hand.

"Uh... how would I know something like that?" Shikamaru replied before returning to his ramen.

The others were already used to it, so they just glanced over and continued eating.

By now, quite a few people had arrived at the tower, and the trio of Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji simply sat nearby, too lazy to move.

In the middle of the night, Zeyu took the watch for everyone.

"Zeyu-kun, I can't really sleep. Can I sleep while holding you?" Hinata asked, sitting in a kneeling position with her hands pressed together against her chest, her fingers tapping against each other as she bowed her head, her face flushed with embarrassment.

Zeyu smiled slightly, stopped his meditation, and lay down on his side, lifting the blanket.

"Come here, Hinata," Zeyu said gently.

"Thank you, Zeyu-kun. I love you the most," Hinata said, crawling into Zeyu's blanket and curling up in his arms.

"Ah, will I disturb Zeyu-kun's training? I'm sorry," Hinata suddenly realized, looking up at Zeyu to ask.

Zeyu kissed her on the forehead and said, "It's fine, I can practice while lying down. Just rest easy, Hinata." He then stroked her hair.

"Hehe, Zeyu-kun is the best," Hinata said, hugging him tightly and feeling incredibly at peace.

One hour before the end of the second exam.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura finally rushed in.

Zeyu had already packed most of his things, and the bedding was put away; it was just about time to finish up after a quick bite.

Seeing the three of them walk into the room, Zeyu greeted them.

"Long time no see, Zeyu. Did things go smoothly for you guys? When did you arrive?" Naruto asked.

"Ah, well, about that..." Zeyu looked at their disheveled appearance and felt a bit embarrassed to answer.

"Anyway, eat something first. Who knows what we'll have to do later," Zeyu decided to skip the explanation and started preparing some ramen for the three of them.

He went over to Shota to start fixing the noodles.

Sasuke, watching the others looking refreshed and spotless, felt a surge of resentment.

Tch, what a bunch of lucky bastards, Sasuke thought.

"Eh? We have to do something else?" Sakura's spirits plummeted the moment she heard Zeyu, her head drooping.

"Hehe, it's okay, Sakura. You've got me," Naruto said confidently, raising his arm and placing his hand on her shoulder.

Sasuke scanned the surroundings and noticed there were quite a few people, giving him a bad premonition.

Ino noticed Sasuke and immediately hurried over.

"Sasuke-kun, you've worked hard. Come take my seat," Ino said, fawning over him and batting her eyelashes.

"Hey! Ino-pig! What do you think you're doing!" Sakura flared up the moment she saw Ino approaching Sasuke.

The two of them immediately began to bicker.

"Here we go again, what a drag," Shikamaru muttered, clutching his ramen, while Choji ignored them entirely, focused only on his food.

Sasuke is really popular, huh. Sigh, Naruto thought.

We're running low on ramen, Zeyu thought, reaching for his scroll to search for more. He had calculated the portions for the original group, but with the arrival of Naruto's team, he needed to pull out a few more.

"Shota, can you take these over? I'm going to boil a few more," Zeyu said, pointing to the three cups of ramen soaking nearby.

"Oh, sure," Shota said, picking up the tray and walking toward the trio.

At that moment, Sakura and Ino were arguing so fiercely that they didn't notice Shota approaching.

"Coming through, ramen's here..." Shota said as he neared them.

The argument between the two grew increasingly heated. Ino shoved Sakura, her arm knocking into the tray. The tray tilted toward Sakura, and it looked as though the ramen was about to spill all over her.

"Watch out!" Sasuke, standing beside them, suddenly noticed. He lunged between the two, pulling Sakura away with one hand while steadying the tray with the other, narrowly preventing her from being scalded.

However, two of the bowls of ramen on the tray went flying.

Shota hurriedly set the remaining bowl on the ground.

Seeing the other two bowls about to hit the floor, he instinctively reached out to catch them. He dropped into a half-squat just before they landed and managed to secure them.

As a result, he was scalded directly. Most of his hands were burned, turning bright red. Shota let out a sharp hiss, gritting his teeth to endure the pain.

"Brother!" Seeing this, Megumi rushed over to examine Shota's hands.

Watching him still firmly gripping the ramen despite his burned hands, she couldn't help but scold him.

"Are you an idiot, Brother? It's just two bowls of ramen!" Megumi said as she carefully took the ramen from him and set it aside.

"Ugh... this was a task entrusted to me by Big Brother; I can't mess it up," Shota said through gritted teeth, his hands trembling slightly.

"You really are a fool, Brother," Megumi said.

Just then, Sasuke, who was standing to the side, added, "Mm, a fool indeed."

"Huh?" Megumi had been focused on Shota's injuries, but hearing this, she grew annoyed and turned to glare at Sasuke.

She immediately stood up, clenched her fists, and said to Sasuke, "How can you say something like that? We were kind enough to bring you food, and this is the attitude you give us?"

"It's just two bowls of ramen; it's no big deal," Sasuke replied.

"You..." Megumi gritted her teeth in anger, staring at the disdainful look on Sasuke's face.