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Chapter 19:Wish

It had been about a week since they started sleeping together. She gave a dry laugh in her head.

Sleeping together as in occupying the same bed, not as in getting intimate. She– getting intimate with him? Laugh out loud.

Or more ridiculous: he getting intimate with her. Roll on the floor laughing out loud.

Now to turn the blush off.

Her heart still raced nervously whenever she was next to him, and certain strange sensations in places that had been more-or-less neglected so far had been making themselves evident to her whenever she was by his side in bed.

Ever since the night on the roof when he came to bring her in, either he would end up in her bed or she would end up in his. They never touched each other, though. There was always a clear line of separation between them as they lay on the bed.

They never talked about it, never acknowledged it during the daytime, and she herself would always wait till the last minute before going to him if he didn't come to her. Having to go to him always made her feel a little humiliated, nervous yet excited at the same time. She would just slip into bed next to him. He would be awake, and would scoot over so that they were not touching. She always tried to hold out until he came, though sometimes she gave in to her desire to be next to him and go to him. When, in the middle of the night, the door opened quietly and his shadowy figure glided in, she would also silently move so that she was on the inner side of the bed and he could occupy the outer side. Never was a word spoken or a sound voluntarily made.

The stress of waiting for the other party to give in and the tenseness with which she slept so that she didn't accidentally roll into him (she knew she tended to splay on the bed when sleeping off-missions) was taking a toll on her. If she looked carefully in the mirror she could see faint signs of eye bags. And she was yawning more often than usual in the mornings. Her energy level was a tad lower than normal, although the change was tiny enough so that the others didn't notice.

But even with all these problems, she knew she wanted to be next to him in bed. She wanted that nervous yet pleasurable pounding of her heart, and those feelings (deluded as they may be) of being safe and secure. Of being cared-for, even though that was really laughable, considering who her bed-mate was.

She still wanted those feelings. At least she knew that she was deluding herself. If ever she started to believe that those feelings were real, she knew she'd be in big trouble.
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Naruto stared blearily at her team from her tied up position. Ichiro's kunai was mercilessly digging into her throat, though it wasn't hard enough to draw blood. Yet, thought Naruto wryly. Ichiro's certainly got the ruthlessness down pat.She sighed.

"Okay, okay, you got me. Let me go now," she said. The three genin smirked at her, and Eriko crowed as Ichiro stepped back and she and Nichiro released the bindings with a snap of their fingers.

"We got you good, sensei! Take that-"

A cold kunai to each of their necks wiped the smirks off their faces and cut Eriko's bragging short. The blonde jounin let out an amused chuckle, her eyes narrowing in malicious glee at them.

"Never ever release your opponent until they're secure in prison or certifiably dead," she informed them dryly, and her clones bonked each genin a good one on the head before poofing out of existence. They scowled at her, and Eriko rubbed her head tenderly.

"That wasn't fair, sensei. We had already won," Ichiro complained darkly. Naruto shot him a 'get-real' look.

"We're shinobi, we don't do fair," she retorted. "Your opponent isn't going to roll over and play dead once you've subdued them."