"Honestly, I can't even get a peaceful night's sleep," Zeyu muttered, yawning as he headed for the bathroom.
As he rounded the corner, he nearly collided with Megumi and Hinata, who were on their way back.
The two of them were carrying a bucket of water together. Hinata also had the clothes she'd changed out of tucked in her arms, and they were chatting as they walked.
Hinata bumped right into Zeyu's arms. The handle slipped from her hand, and the bucket tipped toward her.
"Look out!" Zeyu reacted at once, wrapping an arm around Hinata and turning so she was safely on the inside.
The bucket hit the ground with a thud, splashing water all over Zeyu's back.
"Whew, thank goodness. Are you okay, Hinata?" Zeyu asked with a sigh of relief, looking down at her in his arms.
"Mm, I'm fine," Hinata said quietly, blushing as she rested a hand against his chest.
She pressed her lips together and didn't dare look up at him.
Zeyu noticed that even the tips of Hinata's ears had turned red. Puzzled, he thought to himself,
What's gotten into her today? She's already this shy? I haven't even done anything. Why does she seem too embarrassed to look at me?
He took Hinata's hand, then bent down to meet her eyes.
"What's wrong? You're acting a little strange today, Hinata," Zeyu asked.
Thinking of the conversation she'd had with Megumi and the others earlier, Hinata felt even more embarrassed as she looked at Zeyu.
"N-no, it's nothing." She lowered her head, her face growing even redder.
"Hm? Do you have a fever?" Zeyu asked, puzzled by how flushed Hinata looked.
As he spoke, he took off his Forehead Protector and put it in his pocket.
The next moment, he put an arm around Hinata, brushed aside her bangs, and pressed his forehead against hers.
"E-e-e-eh! Zeyu-kun!" Hinata yelped, startled and at a loss for what to do.
"Hey! I'm still right here!" Megumi called, standing with her hands on her hips.
"Honestly, forget it!" Megumi stomped away, taking the bucket with her.
Zeyu didn't pay Megumi any attention. With his eyes closed, he focused on checking whether Hinata had a fever.
Hinata just stared at him, her pupils trembling. Zeyu held her right hand, and her palm was getting sweaty.
They were so close that she could easily catch his scent, and her heart raced.
After a little while, Zeyu finally pulled away.
"You don't seem to have a fever. That's a relief," Zeyu said, smiling happily.
Hinata's gaze had grown a little dazed. Looking at Zeyu's smile, she gathered her courage.
She slipped her hand out of his grasp, then laced her fingers through his.
"Zeyu-kun, my hand's a little sweaty. Please don't mind," Hinata said, moving closer to him.
"It's fine, I'd never—" Zeyu began, about to tell her he'd never mind.
But Hinata had already pressed her lips to his. A moment later, her soft tongue slipped into his mouth.
Zeyu was startled. Looking at Hinata with her eyes closed and her face flushed, he couldn't help thinking,
What's going on? Since when did Hinata get so forward?
Since things had already gone this far, he could only close his eyes and respond.
Then Hinata took Zeyu's wrist in her left hand and guided it to her chest.
Zeyu was startled and opened his eyes, staring in disbelief into her eyes so close to his. Her long eyelashes were beautiful.
After they stayed like that for a little while, he tentatively gave her a gentle squeeze.
Feeling his touch, Hinata let out a soft little sound and breathed warm air against his lips.
Only then did they pull apart and look at each other.
"Thank goodness. I was worried you didn't like me," Hinata said shyly.
"I like everything about you, Hinata, but... this..."
"Isn't it too soon? Will it hurt you?" Zeyu asked, his face turning red too.
Hinata laughed when she heard that.
"I knew you'd say that, Zeyu-kun. You're so kind. I love you more than anyone."
As she spoke, Hinata leaned against him and slowly wrapped her arms around him.
"It's okay. It won't hurt at all. If it's what you want, Zeyu-kun, anything is fine," Hinata said.
Zeyu hugged her too and stroked the back of her head.
Then Hinata felt that Zeyu's back was soaked, and she grew worried.
"Was that because of what just happened...? I'm sorry, Zeyu-kun. You need to change right away."
Afterward, since there were no other clothes, Zeyu put on the sportswear Hinata had changed out of. His Forehead Protector was tied around his neck.
Zeyu stepped out of the bathroom. Hinata stood by the door, nervously pinching the hem of her clothes and looking down as she asked,
"Zeyu-kun, um... should we try again?"
"Uh... You guys really have it good, huh?" Shikamaru asked, looking at the steaming bowls of ramen in front of them.
"Seriously. We should've come to find you sooner so we could join you," Choji said, wolfing down his ramen.
"Come on, you still had to collect the scrolls first, Choji," Ino said, blowing on the ramen on her chopsticks.
"Well, you just happened to catch us at mealtime. We only have ramen for dinner; the rest of the time, we eat rations," Zeyu said.
Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji had arrived just in time for dinner. Since they were all classmates, Zeyu invited them to eat. He'd brought plenty, after all, and ever since Neji and the others arrived, they'd had dinner with him every night too. They were practically his brothers-in-law.
"You still need a hot meal at night. It makes sleeping much more comfortable," Zeyu said after finishing his ramen.
"Zeyu-kun, your mouth," Hinata said, leaning against him and wiping it with a tissue.
It was only a small gesture, but everyone turned to look at them.
"Hey, when did Hinata get so bold?" Ino whispered to Shikamaru beside her, covering her mouth with one hand.
"Uh... How would I know?" Shikamaru replied, then started eating his ramen too.
The others were already used to it. They glanced over once and went back to eating.
By then, quite a few people had made it to the tower. Shikamaru and the others had taken the nearest seats and couldn't be bothered to move.
That night, Zeyu also took the night watch for them.
"Zeyu-kun, I can't quite fall asleep. Can I sleep in your arms?" Hinata asked, sitting with her legs folded beneath her. She held her hands before her chest, nervously touching her fingers together as she looked down at him with flushed cheeks.
Zeyu smiled, stopped meditating, and lay on his side, pulling back the blanket.
"Come on, Hinata," Zeyu said gently.
"Thank you, Zeyu-kun. I love you most," Hinata said, crawling under the blanket and snuggling into his arms.
"Ah, am I interrupting your training, Zeyu-kun? I'm sorry," Hinata suddenly realized, looking up at him.
Zeyu kissed her forehead and said,
"It's fine. I can train lying down too. Don't worry, Hinata." He patted her head.
"Hehe, you're the best, Zeyu-kun," Hinata said, hugging him tightly and feeling completely at ease.
An hour before the second exam was due to end,
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura finally arrived in a hurry.
Zeyu and the others had nearly finished packing up. The bedding was already put away, and they were about to have something to eat before the exam ended.
Seeing Naruto and the others enter the room, Zeyu greeted them.
"Long time no see, Zeyu! How's it going? When did you get here?" Naruto asked.
"Ah, well..." Zeyu looked at how battered the three of them were and felt a little awkward about answering.
"Anyway, have something to eat first. We might have something else to do later," Zeyu said. He decided not to bring it up and set about making some ramen for them.
He went over to Shota and started preparing some ramen.
Nearby, Sasuke looked at how energetic and spotless everyone seemed, feeling resentful.
Tch, bunch of lucky bastards, Sasuke thought.
"Ehh? We still have to do something else?" Sakura's energy immediately drained away. She slumped her shoulders.
"Hehe, don't worry, Sakura. You've got me," Naruto said confidently, raising his arm and pointing to himself.
Sasuke looked around and saw how many people were there. A sense of unease crept over him.
As soon as Ino saw Sasuke, she hurried over.
"Sasuke-kun, you've worked hard. Come sit in my seat," Ino said, flattering him as she tossed him a few playful winks.
"Hey! Ino-pig! What are you doing?" Sakura snapped, seeing Ino approach Sasuke.
The two of them immediately started arguing.
"There they go again. What a drag," Shikamaru muttered, holding his ramen. Beside him, Choji was too busy wolfing his down to even look up.
Sasuke sure is popular. What a drag, Naruto thought.
"We're running low on ramen," Zeyu thought, rummaging through a scroll for more. He'd planned for everyone, but now that Naruto and the others had arrived, he'd have to take out some more.
"Shota, can you take these over? I'll make some more," Zeyu said, pointing to the three cups of ramen steeping nearby.
"Oh, sure," Shota said, picking up the tray and heading toward Naruto and the others.
Sakura and Ino were in the middle of a fierce argument and didn't notice Shota coming over.
"Here you go, ramen..." Shota said as he approached them.
Their argument grew more heated. Ino shoved Sakura, and Sakura's arm knocked into the tray. It tipped toward her, and the ramen was about to spill all over her.
"Look out!" Sasuke, who was standing beside them, suddenly noticed. He darted between the two, pulling Sakura away with one hand and steadying the tray with the other, preventing her from getting burned.
But two cups of ramen went flying off the tray.
Shota quickly set the remaining cup down.
The other two cups were about to hit the ground. Without thinking, Shota reached out to catch them, crouching just in time.
He got burned in the process. Most of both his hands turned red, and he hissed through clenched teeth.
"Big brother!" Megumi rushed over to check Shota's hands.
Seeing that Shota's hands were burned but he was still gripping the ramen tightly, she scolded him.
"Are you an idiot, big brother? It's just two cups of ramen!" Megumi carefully took the ramen from him and set it aside.
"Uh... Big brother told me to do this. I couldn't mess it up," Shota said through clenched teeth, his hands trembling.
"You really are an idiot, big brother," Megumi said.
Just then, Sasuke spoke up too.
"Yeah, he really is an idiot."
"Huh?" Megumi had been looking at Shota's injuries, but at Sasuke's remark, she grew angry and glared at him.
She straightened up, clenched her fists, and said to Sasuke,
"How can you talk like that? We went out of our way to give you food, and this is how you treat us?"
"It's just two cups of ramen. It's no big deal," Sasuke said.
"You..." Megumi gritted her teeth in anger, glaring at Sasuke's disdainful expression.