Yeah so ... I lost. Maybe I should have been angry. God know that if this had been your average race I would have been seething mad at both myself and everyone else around me for losing. I really need to fix my anger problem...

But I wasn't angry. I wasn't staring daggers into anyone's head. I wasn't muttering angrily to myself. I was just plain relieved. My plan had worked and so far that was the only thing I could think about. I partially didn't care about losing.

Nope. Wrong. I did care. Now I had to fulfill one wish from every teammate and God know what they will be coming up with. Naruto will probably ask me to eat bugs or something. Ugh, somehow I knew this was not going to end well.

I put the thought aside as I entered the changing room. I had left Mami with a dead rat tethered to my kunai so that she could play with it while we soaked. The fact that she couldn't join in was seriously bugging her and I thought her little plaything will distract her a bit.

Sakura and Hinata entered behind me. They were talking animatedly. Well, Sakura anyway. Hinata was being plain old Hinata, answering but timidly.

"Ugh!" Sakura exclaimed. "I can't wait to get into the water. I feel as if all this dirt on my skin is eating away to my bone."

Hinata giggled behind her hand. "Me too," she agreed. "We've been walking or a long time."

"Well, thanks to Lea, we got here ahead of time." Sakura patted me on the shoulder which I shrugged off with a rude look. "Too bad she lost." She flashed me her pearly whites.

I could have clobbered her. Instead, I crossed my arms and cocked my head to the side. "Oh? Is that coming from you Sakura? I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you when you're not pinned to the ground screaming your head off by yours truly."

"It was your clone!"

"Clone, schmone." I smiled sweetly at her. "But it's okay. I lost."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Are you getting undressed or what?"

I blinked at her. Huh? "What?"

Hinata and Sakura were both stripping. My eyes grew wide as they shed their clothes right in front of me. Hinata's body was all curves to fit her build which was a huge contrast to Sakura who was as flat as a board. I looked down at me clothes then back at them. They were staring at me.

"Aren't you going to get undressed?" Hinata asked me.

"Oh. Uh, Do I have to?"

"Well, if you want to go in the hot springs then yeah, it's kind of mandatory," Sakura answered. She pulled a fluffy white towel from a locker and wrapped it around herself.

"Huh. Is that so? Well, looks like no hot springs for me." I did not feel comfortable getting naked in front of them. Nor did I feel comfortable putting my naked body in a body of hot water with a bunch of naked boys and one naked old man just next door. My face grew hot at the thought.

A naked Naruto.

A naked Kiba.

A naked Sasuke.

Oh wow. Nope, not even going near.

"I'll just be outside with Mami," I told them. I turned around and came face to face with Hinata. When had she moved? I hadn't even noticed.

"You're coming with us, Lea-kun," she said, sounding oddly strong.

I almost rolled my eyes. "Hinata, don't be stupid. I-!"

I had no time to finish my sentence. All of a sudden, someone pounced on my back. Sakura pulled my hands and feet together, using the element of surprise to pull my clothes from my shoulder. Hinata was there too, holding me down as I writhed and struggled and tried to wrestle my way out.

"Let me go!" I screamed at them.

"Hinata, hold her feet down!" Sakura shouted. My feet were suddenly pinned to the ground but I didn't stop my struggling. Hinata was, surprisingly, strong. I hissed and tried biting at Sakura, bending my body every which way to get out but it was to no avail. They stripped my clothes off and left me bare.

I grabbed the nearest towel and wrapped it around myself so fast it felt as if I hadn't moved.

"I'm going to kill you both," I whispered, my voice filled with menace. "When you're sleeping I'm going to strip you both and skin you until only the little nail on your pinky toe is left. Then I'm going to cook your skin and feed it back to you and watched you choke on your own vomit."

Sakura wasn't fazed at all. She crossed her arms and smiled at me. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just hurry up. I want to get in the water."

I had no choice but to do so. It was either that or stay in room until the girls returned with my clothes in tow. Soaking in hot water sounded like the better choice to me but I wasn't happy about it. No, no. I will have my revenge.

I followed them both outside. The heat from the water hit me and sweat broke out on my forehead. I closed my eyes when they removed their towels.

"You can open your eyes now, Lea-kun."

As quickly as I could I dropped the towel and jumped into the water. There was a big splash. Sakura and Hinata screamed.

"Hey! You couldn't get into the water like a normal person?" Sakura bellowed at me. I grinned at her, feeling a glimmer of happiness as she shook the water from her hair.

"I looked quicker this way," I shrugged. The water was actually very nice. I leaned back and sighed. This was kind of worth all the struggling and fighting before. All the aches from the day disappeared and in its place came peace. Serenity.

Two things I haven't felt in a long, long time.

"Liking the water, Lea-kun?" Hinata asked me.

I didn't open my eyes. "I feel like I've died and gone to heaven."

"See?" Sakura said. "You wouldn't have known how it felt if we hadn't tackled you back there."

"Yeah, you're right Sakura. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to carry out my threat." It was hard to sound menacing when you're this relaxed.

Although I couldn't see the two, I could tell they were a little scared. I could hear it in their voices. Serves them right. That's exactly what I wanted to do. Strike fear into their hearts.

"You know I can just 'request' that you not do anything to me, right?" Sakura's voice was a little shaky.

I made a tsking sound. "I'm disappointed in you Sakura. What kind of ninja are you; you're such a little scaredy-cat."

"Am not!"

"And a child too."

"Hey!"

A chuckle escaped my lips. It was so much fun messing with her. "Is that really your request? Don't forget that you only get one and that would be a huge waste considering I didn't mean it. Well, not entirely."

Sakura made a nervous laugh. "O-of course not," she said. "That would be so stupid. I already know what I'm going to request of you."

"Oh? And what is that?"

I could have said the words with her. That's how sure I was of what she was going to say. I said it in my mind and the words were the exact same, down to the full stop.

"Stay away from Sasuke."

If my eyes were open, I would have rolled them. "Really, Sakura? That's you wish? Okay, it's your choice." I shifted my position in the water. "You're gonna have to get a little more specific there because Sasuke and I, being teammates and all, will end up around each other sooner or later."

"No! Just stay away no matter what!"

This time I finally opened my eyes. "You can't be serious."

"Yes, I am." She pushed her still wet hair back from her face and gave me a look of complete stubbornness.

I sat up in the water. "Okay. But. We're leaving here in, say, two days? We set out to Kumogakure again, rested and at ease. So at ease that none of us see the enemy ninjas waiting for us or even got any time to react to their ambush. They attack us while we are unaware and split us up somehow. Sasuke's being beaten like a sack of potatoes and I'm the only one close enough to save him. But. To fulfill your request I will stay away from him. He might die, but that won't matter since I did what I was told to do. That is fulfill your request."

It was silent for a while. "That won't happen," Sakura said softly.

"How would you know?"

"Sasuke's strong."

"Sasuke's barely a teen. None of us are."

"Horo-sama will protect us then."

"Horo is an old man that thinks he's twenty years old."

"Fine! Fine, okay? Stay away from Sasuke but ... only for our stay here."

I slid back down into the water and closed my eyes. "That sounds more reasonable."

"When did you get so smart?" Her tone was mocking but I smirked.

"I knew it was hiding in me somewhere."

//

The soak felt like it lasted forever. I was on Cloud Nine. I would have gladly stayed there longer if Hinata hadn't told me that staying too long would make me pruney. To be honest, I only gotten out because I had heard that dinner was served but the prune thing was an added bonus.

I walked in the dining room behind Sakura and Hinata. Naruto and the others were already seated at the table.

"Sakura-chan, come on! We've been waiting forever!" He was practically salivating.

The table had plates and bowls of different dishes covering every inch of it and sitting square in the middle was a nice golden roasted chicken. If someone had told me that my eyes turned into hearts I would not be very surprised.

I dashed past the two girls, seating myself beside Naruto. All I could see was the chicken and a wide grin stretched across my face.

"Ahem." It was Sakura. I looked up and she was giving me a pointed look. It was then that I noticed that I had seated myself between Naruto and Sasuke. I didn't stop to wonder why the two rivals were sitting beside each other. I just got up and went to the other side of the table, as far away from Sasuke I could go. Sakura sat in the seat I just vacated, a smile on her lips.

"Hey, why'd you move?" Naruto asked me.

My eyes moved to Sasuke, unbidden. His eyes burned into me and I felt as if he was asking the same question. I looked away quickly.

"Why does it matter?" I said as a rebuff. "What really matters is why that chicken isn't in my mouth."

"What chicken?" Kiba asked. "If you're talking about that chicken then sorry but it's reserved for me and Aka." Akamaru barked.

"Shut up, mutt boy! The chicken's mine!" Naruto bellowed.

"You both better shut up before I turn you both into roasted chicken," I said. "Touch my chicken and die."

I vaguely noticed that everyone had begun eating, while we argued over who would take the chicken. Naruto's eyes met mine and lightning crackled between us.

"Touch my chicken and die," I repeated, half daring him.

"You must not have heard me Lea. That chicken belongs to me and Aka."

"Akamaru can go eat the scraps when I'm done. I'm not sure I'll have enough left for you however."

Before he could reply, Naruto and I lunged for the chicken first. He grabbed a leg and I grabbed the other. The grease from the skin made it difficult to keep hold but I did it.

"Let go!"

"No can do, Naruto!"

"Both of you stop fighting over a chicken!" Sakura shouted.

"Idiots," I heard Sasuke mutter.

"That chicken is mine!" Kiba exclaimed, jumping in to get a hold of the tug of war.

"Butt out, mutt boy!" Naruto and I shouted at the same time.

I'm tired of this. I twisted my foot around and gave the leg on hard tug. I fell back on my butt, the leg still in my hand. Naruto fell back too, holding his leg. The rest of the chicken flew up in the air and, for a moment, it suspended there.

Naruto and I looked at each other.

Hell if he was getting my damn chicken!

I sprang up and kicked the blond boy under the chin just before he could grab the falling chicken and grabbed it myself. Naruto flew all the way into the wall behind him. It cracked.

"Yes!" I shouted in glee. My chicken! My freaking chicken! Somehow winning it made it taste even better. I chewed its meat with the grin of a Cheshire cat on my face. Naruto staggered over.

"Lea-chan!"

I looked at him. "Wah?"

"I know what I'm requesting of you," he said in his usual boisterous way.

I quirked a brow. "What?"

He pointed an exaggerated finger at me. "Fight me!"

Not what I was expecting. Or maybe it was. I don't know. I got my chicken and that's all that mattered at the moment.

I just wrote a chapter about fighting over a chicken ... 

A chicken ...