University of Konoha (Modern Naruto Various)

Chapter 17

It was quiet the rest of the ride to the hotel, which I didn't know could be possible with the group that we had. When we finally arrived, the other group was already there. We all filed out of the car and grabbed our things. Shikamaru had already checked us in so we just had to take our stuff up to our rooms. The girls were sharing between two adjoining rooms while the guys had three rooms they would be using. Our rooms were on the ground floor so when we arrived I immediately noticed the sliding glass door at the back that led to the beach. I could see the gentle waves lapping at the shore and I couldn't contain the grin that spread on my face. "C'mon, let's hurry up and get changed so we can soak in the sun!" Ino called. The girls cheered and we took turns using the bathrooms to change into our swimsuits. I changed into a plum colored one piece swimsuit. We grabbed our towels and headed out to the beach.

When we arrived at the beach, the boys were already out there in varying states of activity. Some looked like they were setting up a volleyball net while others were setting up preparations for a bonfire. It seemed like Choji and Shikamaru were putting out food and Sai and Shino were setting up umbrellas. I'll be honest. I took a minute to admire the view. Some of these guys were pretty toned but all of them were good looking. I felt someone lean close to me. "So you were picturing all of them. You naughty girl." I turned to see Ino giving me a wicked grin. I felt my face turn red. "Shut up Ino." She giggled and gave me a knowing look. "Nothing wrong with admiring the qualities before you choose." I grumbled to myself as I walked off. "She probably just wants me to hook up with someone so that she has an excuse to play dress up with me." I walked over to where Choji and Shikamaru were at and asked if they needed help. "Sure, your help would be appreciated Asami." Choji smiled gently. "By the way, you look great in that swimsuit." "Thank you Choji." Shikamaru looked up at me and I noticed his face go slightly pink. He quickly turned his face away and I heard him mumble, "What a drag." I giggled. An embarrassed Shikamaru was kind of cute. We were about to finish putting the food spread out when I heard someone calling my name. I turned around to see Naruto running towards me. He tried to skid to a stop but apparently forgot to account for the sand. Oh no. I saw, too late, that he was going to run right into me. Our bodies collided and we tumbled down onto the sand. Naruto landed on top of me and I let out an 'oof'. He struggled to get up and said, "Sorry Asami." Suddenly, he froze. I realized that his face was just inches from mine. His cerulean blue eyes were staring down at me as I laid there in the sand. We stayed like that for what seemed like several minutes. "Uh Naruto..." He blinked. "Yeah?" he asked softly. "Can you get off of me now?" He seemed to remember the situation we were in and blushed. "Y-yeah," he stuttered. He got up and reached a hand out to help me up. I gratefully took it and brushed the sand off of me. "So what were you calling me for?" I asked. "We were about to play some volleyball and was wondering if you wanted to play." "Sure."

I was on a team with Hinata, Neji, Gaara, Lee, and Tenten. We were up against Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Sai, Kankuro, and Temari. The game started up and it was intense. Sasuke's team was very competitive. Our team just rotated so that I was on the front left. We were down 3-4 and I was playing front left. The ball had been going back and forth for a little while when Temari bumped it back to our side. It's coming to my side. I followed the ball with my eyes and realized that it was going to land behind me. Oh shoot. I scrambled backwards in an attempt to get the ball. However my feet got tangled underneath me and I tripped. I closed my eyes and braced myself to hit the sand. Instead I felt warm arms catch me. I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder. The first thing I noticed was a bare, muscular chest. My mind went blank. I heard a low voice say, "Are you alright?" I looked up to see teal eyes looking at me with concern. "I-I'm fine," I stuttered. I shook my head and smiled at Gaara. "Thanks." He smiled gently at me. I got lost in his eyes and he didn't release his hold on me. He really is quite handsome. "Hey, are we playing or what?" Kankuro yelled. Huh? Our gazes snapped and I looked around in confusion. I realized that everybody was staring at us and some of the boys were glaring at Gaara. Oops. I got my feet underneath me and Gaara let me go. I realized that he was blushing and that caused me to blush. What is with me and running into guys all the time? I walked back to my spot and said, "I'm ready."