A Growing Affection

Chapter 48: Behind the Scenes

Sakura was sitting in a chair outside the actress's room, when the alarm went off at five AM. She listened to the princess groan and then slap the clock. Then she heard something else, a none-too-quiet crash from the other side of the house. Even as she stood, she drew a kunai in her right hand, and her weapon scroll in her left. The medical expert paused, torn between her desire to investigate, and her worry this was a distraction to pull her away from the actress. But then she heard Naruto shout in frustration, and she quickly darted down the hall.

Instead of finding her teammate locked in battle, she discovered Naruto in the kitchen, staring at a paring knife in annoyance.

"Is this thing just for show?" he grumbled, before tossing the red stained blade into the sink. Uzumaki was not wearing his jacket, but he did have on his pants and tank top. He withdrew a kunai from his belt pouch, and resumed cutting the raspberries spread over the counter.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" she asked angrily.

"I'm trying to make breakfast," he shot back with slightly less vehemence, "But Yukie isn't making it easy. The pans were just shoved in the cabinet, and none of the knives are sharp."

"Hinata will be done in the shower soon," Kakashi said from behind his student, "So you should get ready for your turn, Sakura."

"What's wrong with you two?" she complained, "We're on a mission, not vacationing at a friend's house."

"Actually, we're kinda doing both," Naruto observed, his mood clearing slightly.

"Sakura, I might agree with you if we were in the field, getting ready for battle," the Jonin tried to supplicate her, "But we're in the second largest city in the nation. We will spend the day dealing with actors and executives. So there's no reason we can't take advantage of civilization, is there?"

"I guess not," she agreed, lowering her knife, and stowing the scroll. Just then Hinata walked in, fully clothed, but her hair still wet and not yet braided.

"I'll go stand guard," Kakashi told the pink haired woman. She nodded, and both of them left. Hinata sat in the chair, and watched her beloved cut the berries in eights. He dumped the fruit into the dough, and mixed it in.

"What are you making?" she asked softly. Her face was tight with uncertainty.

"Raspberry pancakes and sausages," he said carefully, confused by her demeanor.

"I thought you didn't like to cook," despite the phrasing, the tone made her statement a question.

"I hate it," he agreed, "It's taken me almost a half hour to get this far, and it'll take another twenty minutes to get everything done. Then afterwards, it will take at least as long to clean up this mess. And on top of that, I couldn't take my shower yet, because I knew I would just get messed up again. And all that, for something that will only take like fifteen minutes to eat..."

"Then why do it?" she asked.

"Why?" he shrugged as if he had not considered it, "So everyone could have good breakfast."

"Do you..." Hinata started to ask another question, but she trailed off in fear and uncertainty. Then she took a grip on her worry, and forced the question out.

"Naruto, do you have a crush on Princess Koyuki?"

"Huh? Ow," he cut his finger, his attention shifted by his surprise. The wound quickly stopped bleeding, and he washed the knife.

"No way," Uzumaki responded flippantly, as he dabbed the blade with a towel.

"Really... it... it's OK if you do..." she told him, trying to sound earnest. He saw her expression, and he turned serious.