"Just what you'd expect from Akira-san. He let Hinata drop her guard, then took her out with a single move," Naruko whispered from the bushes.
Ino and Sakura, crouched right next to her, weren't totally convinced by her version of events, but they had to admit it was possible.
"That was such a cool technique! I wonder if he'd teach me if I asked?" Naruko said dreamily, already picturing herself using it to beat all her classmates in sparring matches.
"I've seen that jutsu a few times - it's called the Shadow Clone Technique. Since it's not a clan secret, he could probably teach you, if you offer him something valuable in return," Ino explained calmly.
She only knew that the jutsu created physical clones, but it burned through a ton of chakra, so it wasn't really an option for her.
"Shh, he's coming back," Sakura said suddenly.
****
"Why… why did you tie her up like that?" Today, this clone had managed to leave him speechless twice. Akira was starting to wonder if it was even his own clone.
"That's the only way we know how to tie someone up. Admit it - if her hands were free, she'd get out in no time. This way, she's not going anywhere. Perfect." Akira's clone flashed a hand sign and vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Figures. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." Akira grumbled, trying to figure out how to untie Hinata now.
Unfortunately, the clone had done his job a little too well. Shibari might have been meant for something else, but if you did it right, it could completely immobilize a person. The rope was only long enough for her torso, arms, and part of her thighs. So, technically, if Hinata could get to her feet, she could probably walk away - just not comfortably.
Who said watching porn was a waste of time? That's how I improved my English, and apparently, I picked up enough skills to tie someone up, too.
But I'll have to loosen or cut some of these ropes. God, wasn't he embarrassed to tie her up like this? Akira thought, leaning over the unconscious Hinata, trying to figure out which knot was which.
"Mnn." Hearing a soft moan, Akira straightened up immediately.
Hinata's eyebrows and mouth twitched, and after a second, her eyes opened, hazy and unfocused. She looked around, blinking.
A few seconds later, her gaze cleared. She looked down at her tied-up body, then at Akira.
"You're dead," she spat, and, planting her feet, kicked off the ground, rolling backward. [ image ]

You had to give her credit for flexibility - using her back and shoulder muscles, she managed to get enough momentum to land on her feet.
Naturally, Akira had no intention of dying, so he quickly closed the distance and grabbed the main knot behind her back, which had loosened during her escape attempt.
"Let go!" Hinata growled.
"Nope, I want to live, so we're going to have a calm conversation and hopefully come to an agreement."
"Hhh, fine, but can you at least untie me? It's kind of hard to talk like this," she said, giving in.
"No way, you're too quick - I'm afraid you'll bolt the second I let go." Hinata tried to jerk away a couple of times, but realizing Akira had a firm grip on the rope, she gave up.
Circling around to face her, he grabbed the rope on her shoulder and started the conversation.
"Let's start with the fact that you attacked me for no reason and hurt me. I'd like to know why."
"And what if I don't answer?" Hinata smirked, not liking her situation, which was getting worse by the second as the ropes pressed tighter against her sensitive spots.
"Well… you don't have to answer, but if word of this gets back to your clan, you'll have to explain everything anyway, so what's the difference?" Akira replied easily.
Fine, these ropes are getting tighter by the second. I'll just pretend to play along, then beat him up later, she decided.
"All right, so, Ino suggested a game…" she began, leaving out the part about racking up as many points as possible. Hinata only said the goal was to stay in physical contact with the target as long as possible, framing the contest not as a way to prove who was most attractive, but as a test of who could best make contact and win someone over - basically, who was the most socially skilled shinobi.
Ino, listening in, couldn't help but respect Hinata's ability to bend the truth.
"I see. And why'd you pick me?" Akira found these kinds of games odd, but considering how few ways there were to have fun in this world, he accepted the explanation.
"You just happened to be near the academy. Plus, we figured that if things got weird, you wouldn't get handsy like some guys. Turns out I was wrong - you're even worse than I thought." She shot Akira a scornful look.
"Hm. I'd like to see how someone else would react to a surprise attack. I doubt many people would just stand there and take a beating. Thanks to you, by the way, my arm's barely working."
"It'll be fine in a few hours," Hinata snorted.
"All right, so I get it - Naruko faked an injury to get close to me, which is a little unfair since we know each other. And now I understand why Ino was all over me. With Sasuke, I was the one who started it."
"By the way, why were you even talking to her?" Hinata wanted to end this farce as soon as possible, but curiosity got the better of her, especially with the ropes digging in where they were.
"Oh, we'd met once before. I remember it like it was yesterday - I was walking in the park, it was such a warm, sunny day…"
At that moment, Hinata realized the difference between a regular person and a writer. What could have been summed up in one sentence, Akira stretched into a ten-minute story. If they were sitting at a table with tea, she'd have enjoyed listening, but right now, she was in no mood.
The pain's almost gone, just itching and numbness in some places, Hinata thought, tuning out Akira's words.
Damn, he really is a jerk, she thought for the tenth time, noticing how the ropes made her chest stand out. The itching came back, and she shifted her hips a little.
The ropes make me want to scratch down there, and every time I move my hips, it goes away for a second, but then comes back even stronger. Same thing if I try to move my arms behind my back. Damn, it's getting worse.
While Akira went on about walking techniques, Hinata focused entirely on her discomfort, trying to subtly rub her thighs together.
After a few minutes, she couldn't take the itching and the urge to scratch in all the wrong places anymore.
"All right, I get it, can you let me go now?"
"Mmm, but I still don't get why you decided to approach me like that."
"I… hnn, to win, I thought the best way would be to just grab your hand and not let go, hhh, until time was up." Hinata realized the itching was starting to mess with her speech.
"But I still don't get why you had to attack me. Sure, by the rules it was a good move, but you're not going to win people over that way - if anything, it'll have the opposite effect."
"I know, but I still won, so it doesn't matter. Now let me go, I can't take it anymore."
"All right, I can do that. But I'll say it again - no matter how you look at it, I was right to defend myself. And if this gets out and your clan decides to handle it the hard way, your reputation in the village will take a hit. I hope you keep that in mind."
"Got it, let's just pretend this was a little misunderstanding." Hinata was ready to agree to anything if it meant getting untied.
"Okay, I'll untie you now," Akira nodded, moving behind her.
Finally, I feel like I was about to lose my mind, Hinata sighed in relief.
"Hmm, this knot's pretty tricky," she heard him say, and suddenly the ropes dug in even tighter.
"It's not working… maybe if I pull here?" The ropes tightened even more.
"Hmf, hurry up," Hinata managed between heavy breaths.
Akira started tugging at the knot in different places, using varying force, and every move showed on Hinata's face in a series of strange expressions.
Kami, just cut them, Hinata thought, unable to take the torture any longer.
"I could, but it's a shame to waste good rope… and I left my wakizashi at home today, that would've made this easy," he said, each word punctuated by another attempt to untangle the knot.
"Take… a kunai… from my pouch," Hinata could barely speak from the itching.
Akira glanced at the pouch strapped just below her back, on her right hip - or rather, at the rope pressed tightly against it.
I'll try to pull it loose, he thought, leaning in and tugging at the rope, making Hinata tense up all over.
After six tries, he managed to get it and pulled out the kunai.
Poor thing, the clone really overdid it - the ropes must have cut off her circulation, Akira thought, watching Hinata start to tremble.
With the kunai, it went much faster, and in half a minute he'd cut all the ropes.
So, we managed to work things out after all. Just as I hoped, once she was free, she didn't attack me, Akira thought.
"Don't forget what I said," Akira said as he turned and walked away.
A minute later, Hinata slumped to the ground.
She didn't go after Akira for one simple reason - she just wasn't up for it. The relief of being freed from the tight ropes, and the fireworks of pleasant sensations she'd felt when Akira was tugging at the rope, left her just sitting there, basking in the afterglow.
"Hinata, are you okay?" Sakura asked, stepping out from behind the bushes with the others.
"Yeah… mnn, just go… by the way, I won." She didn't have the strength to smile, let alone stand up.
"That's right. Well, Sakura, you lost," Ino said, patting the pink-haired girl on the shoulder.
"What? I didn't even get my turn!" Sakura protested.
"If you think Akira's in the mood to talk right now, go for it. You might catch up if you hurry," Ino pointed in the direction Akira had gone. "Personally, I'm tired and hungry, so I'm heading home."
Naruko's stomach growled - she'd been quietly listening this whole time.
"Oh, right, I skipped lunch, dattebayo. Mom's gonna kill me. I'm out, see you guys, that was fun!" And she dashed off.
Ino said her goodbyes and left too.
"Ugh," Sakura muttered, glancing at Hinata still sitting on the ground, then stomped off home.
****
"Hey Mom, why is there a fox in our house?" Naruko asked, bursting through the door.
"Oh, that's Akira's pet. He found her on his way back from Tanzaku. Isn't she cute?" Kushina said, hugging the yipping little beauty.
"Let me hold her! What's her name?" Naruko stripped off her jacket, plopped down on the floor in her tank top, and reached for the fox.
"Aika. Now, tell me - why were you gone so long? Didn't I tell you to let me know if you're going to hang out after the academy?"
"Aika? Wait… he named his fox the same as that girl?" Naruko found that hilarious.
"What? What girl?" Kushina was surprised and started grilling Naruko.
"Ah… ahaha, never mind, lesson learned - don't jump to conclusions."
"Good," Naruko mumbled, embarrassed by her own silliness. "We actually had a whole competition because of it."
Kushina raised an eyebrow and started questioning her daughter about what she'd been up to for the past few hours.
"Yeah, we saw him, and that idiot Sasuke pushed me off the roof, so I totally wiped out in front of him, can you believe it?" Naruko started recounting everything, step by step.
"Oh, and then he started massaging my leg and offered to take me to the hospital. Mom, you have no idea how good that massage felt."
"Where did he massage you?" Kushina was starting to realize Naruko's description was a little too enthusiastic for a simple massage.
"Right here," she pointed to the top of her thigh. "But then I realized it felt even better here, so I told him that's where it hurt. Pretty smart, right?" She pointed to the inside of her thigh.
"And while he was massaging you there, you felt something weird, didn't you?" Kushina asked, her face unreadable.
"Yes! Exactly! And at some point, it felt really, really good. I'm thinking of telling Akira tomorrow that my leg still hurts a little, and asking him to do it again…" Naruko trailed off as she saw Kushina smack her own forehead.
Not wanting to jump to conclusions, Kushina asked her to repeat everything that happened with Akira, in the smallest detail.
"…and then I thought I'd peed myself and ran away, but luckily, it was just a false alarm."
If I really had peed myself, I'd never tell anyone, not even you, Mom, Naruko thought.
"Ohhh, I see. Well, I thought I'd have to talk to you about this after you graduated from the academy, but I guess the time has come." Sighing again, Kushina went to the kitchen for a glass of water and soon came back.
Twenty minutes later, Naruko went to her room, her mind spinning, hiding her red face from her mom.
🔥~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~🔥
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