Chapter 4
Half of her tent was in the grass and half of it was in the sand, they were stationed between Suna and the Land of rivers. Temari lay on her futon to relieve her back pain. Her fingers glide to her chest, checking if it's bulging because she didn’t want anyone to notice it.
It was already night so she prepared herself for dinner. The gurgling sound from her stomach and a dry mouth confirmed that she’s hungry. She walked outside to look for her two new friends and saw them getting their food from the line. She starts lining up to get her ration, walked to Lee and Omoi’s spot, and starts eating food with them.
“We need to take a bath now. Everyone will use it after eating and it’ll be crowded” Omoi said while chewing the fish from his plate
“Uhm, wait-uhm crowded?” Temari said while her mouth was full of rice and vegetable. She was surprised on what she just heard
“Yeah, we share a bath in here” Omoi answered
You gotta be kidding me! No—no no no no nononononononononononononononono! There’s no fucking way!
She panicked after hearing that. Her jaw dropped to the floor, she could feel her stomach tightening, and her breath starts to become more shallow.
“You mean, naked? No clothes? Everyone? In the bathroom?” She wanted to confirm
“Yes, 50 men max. You need to wait if there’s no vacant and yes, all are fully naked. What do you want to hear? dangling ding dong?” Omoi sarcastically said
“Why Takeo? You haven’t shared a bath before?” Lee asked “Don’t worry, if you’re not comfortable with other people. You can bath with us”
That’s the same fucking thing! I’m freaking doomed!
“Uhm-hm. No, I—I’ll probably just don’t wash. I will not die from the dirt I guess”
“Man, what are you a prince? I didn’t know you’re that sensitive in sharing things with others” Omoi said to her with furrowed brows
“Orrrrr, you’ll just have to wait for everyone to finish. I remembered taking a bath at around 10 pm and there were no other people inside, it was just me, Cold and alone. It’s just kinda scary though, it’s empty” Lee said
“Lee! You’re a genius! Right! I could probably do that. I’ll just take a bath at around 10 or past 10 to make sure there are no other people” Temari shrieked
“Yeah. Sure”
Temari felt relieved after hearing that and decided that she’ll just take a bath at around 10:30, and will make it her routine during her stay at the camp. After eating, Omoi and Lee walked to the shared bathroom with other men while she waits in her tent. After a couple of hours, she walked outside and glanced at the big clock near the shared bathroom, it’s already 10:15 pm. She returned to her tent to get her soap, towel, and night clothes.
A silhouette of steam escaped from the shared bathroom when she was entering it. Temari was scared to glance but she pulled up her courage and looked inside. Her eyes were closed while entering the bathroom then peeked into her right eye, making sure that no one was inside. There’s none, the bathroom is empty.
“Thank you, Kami-sama!” She yelled
She proceeds to take off her clothes, fully naked, and starts sitting in one of the chairs inside. She glanced at her back and saw a huge onsen that releasing all the steams. Her hand gripped the dipper and cupped the hot water in the tub. All the pain in her muscles just cured, the warm water calmed her body. Mist and soap bubbles covered her entirety, cleaning every part of it. Temari was happy taking a bath that night, it was peaceful, and cozy, and serene, and ca----
Suddenly, someone walked inside the shared bathroom. She could hear him yawning like he was just woken up from sleep. Temari was frozen in her position and turns her head around to see who just entered the bathroom. She thanked all the heavens because his eyes were still closed while walking inside, wearing only a towel.
She immediately grabbed her towel and wrapped it in her body, covering her chest. Then, she grabbed her Kimono and bath stuff. Her feet were running to reach the exit door but the guy just yelled at her.
“HEY!”
There’s no fucking way!
“You! I was calling you” The guy walked towards her, now fully naked, one eye open, and his hair was down. Temari realized it was their leader, the rude guy who was giving the speech earlier when she sees him close.
“Do you have a soap, boy?” He asked
Temari flickers her eyes and tilts her head up, avoiding seeing something down there in her periphery. The dangling ding dong that Omoi said because it’s literally hanging in there and she didn’t want to see it. She has never seen a dick before.
“Hey? Are you deaf? Do you have soap?”
“Uhm yeah. Here” Her shaking hands grabbed the soap and give it to him. She prayed that it will not slide in her hands because this guy would probably ask her to get the soap on the ground if she slips it. And she might stumble over something she was avoiding down there.
Panicking inside, Temari immediately runs outside after giving the soap. She immediately jumps onto her futon after reaching her tent and starts burying her head in the pillow, trying to forget what she just saw.
“Just throw me right now on the battlefield, I’d be willing to catch a fucking arrow!”
The next day, she woke up from a loud noise outside. A splurge of senses just emerged inside her after realizing that she has woken up late. Panicking, she immediately arranged her bed and wear her practice clothes before going outside. Her cheeks were cold while glancing at the open air and saw that everyone are lining up for breakfast.
She greeted Omoi and Lee and then starts eating with them.
“After breakfast, we are going to the land of rivers so we need to eat a lot. A lot!” Omoi uttered while eating vegetable soup and rice.
“It’s just two or three miles, it’s not that bad” Lee answered, he always does hundreds of laps every day so walking in a far place is nothing to him.
Temari just listen to their conversation while eating her food. They all stood up after finishing then one of the samurai announced to pack their bags because they were going to move to the Land of rivers. It was around 10 in the morning when all the samurais gathered in one spot. The five leaders positioned in front of them riding their horses.
“I hope you all eat well this morning because we are going to walk to the Land of rivers. We should reach it by noon, the villagers prepared our lunch so we need to be punctual. Grab your things and each one of you will be given a sack of supplies, a gift from the kages. You need to carry it” Neji spoke
“Oh fuck! Not again!” Omoi said
“What is it?” Temari asked
“That sack! Is freaking heavy! Plus, we need to carry our baggage” He responded
“But it was just li----” Lee said but he was interrupted by Omoi
“NO! shut up! It’s not lightweight! Just because you always lift heavy things when you warm up it doesn’t mean it’s not heavy to us” he frustratedly answered
“Calm down, will you?” Lee responds
“Alright, let’s just start to grab our supplies and starts preparing for the walk” Omoi said while pinching the skin between his brows
They marched to the huge pile of sacks, each filled with a lot of supplies. Clothes, hygiene kits, medication, and other things. Temari starts lifting one and it’s freaking heavy. She tried to hide her struggle carrying the sack to her two friends but her breath was almost out. Shikamaru arrived in front of their army riding his horse and commands them to start walking.
She squeezed her eyes shut and released a heavy breath. Yeah, she could lift heavy things but not this kind of heavy. Temari was so envious of her comrade’s physique, their broad upper bodies could probably lift more than she could.
They were walking for 2 miles now and her body start to become numb. She was at the end of the line dragging her things, her mind doesn’t want to give up but her body does. Her eyes start to become blurry, her lungs gasping for air, and the hot wind coming from Suna didn’t help her situation.
Her knees touched the grass ground, then her palms, then her face……..
Suddenly, someone grabbed her things and yelled at her.
“Move! I want to see you in front! FASTER!” Shikamaru lifted her sack and baggage, clings it in his horse saddle, and then left her.
She pushed the wet grass ground with her palms and then shakes her head. After one heavy gasp of air, she stood up and starts running in front.