"I thought you said you were going on a diet, onee-sama?" Karin asked innocently, as she watched Sakura lay out a few strips of raw meat onto the grill. "Here, I braised this healthy mushroom to perfection for you— say aaah…"
"That's only for sweets, meat doesn't count," said Sakura smartly, dodging Karin's chopsticks by tilting her head to the side. "I didn't cultivate these—" she patted her chest with her free hand, "—just by eating my vegetables, you know?"
If there was a KFC franchise in Konoha, Sakura had yet to see it. So, with no traditional Christmas fried chicken to be found, the girls had decided to hold their get-together at Yakiniku Q's— an Akimichi clan– owned barbecue joint.
"Please don't be difficult, onee-sama," Karin insisted. "Vegetables are good for you…"
"Mushrooms aren't vegetables, they're overgrown mould!" said Sakura in a huff. "Besides, I'm just keeping them for later— mmpfh!"
Taking advantage of the fact that Sakura needed to open her mouth to yap, Karin quickly stuffed a juicy piece of mushroom between her onee-sama's luscious lips.
"Substitution Jutsu!"
With a puff of white smoke, Sakura's figure was replaced by that of a chair.
"Please refrain from using Ninjutsu in the restaurant, dear customer!" an annoyed waiter reprimanded Sakura. She sheepishly apologised and returned the chair to its rightful owner, while the rest of her party watched on, laughing.
"You two get along so well," said Hinata softly as Sakura returned to her seat in front of Karin. "I wish I had your courage…"
Somehow, Sakura couldn't help but jump every time she looked into Hinata's eyes. Losing her drowned woman's milky eyes had turned Hinata from a striking beauty into the ideal Yamato-Nadeshiko-once-in-ten-thousand-years-jade-beauty… which obviously wasn't worth losing the ability to look through walls and peek into the women's section of the public baths… cough.
"You're so funny, Hinata-chan," Karin squealed. "Do you really think we look good together? Haha, no way—" she then looked at Sakura expectantly, twiddling her forefingers together shyly, "—unless…?"
"That…" said Hinata, startled. "I don't think that's what I was talking about…?"
"MORE SAKE!" Tsunade drunkenly shouted, banging the table with her fist and raising her empty glass.
"Milady!" said Shizune pleadingly. "You've already had five!"
Sakura immediately zeroed in on the hint of pink peeking out from under the older woman's robes. If Tsunade just moved her arm a little more, or if her clothes shifted just a bit, then maybe she'd catch a glimpse of the legendary…!
Karin placed the tips of her fingers on her chest and glumly looked down at her meagre breasts. If only she had legendarily huge breasts like their sensei, then maybe her senpai would notice her…
At any rate, it quickly became apparent to Sakura that there would be no wardrobe malfunction no matter how violently Tsunade moved and no matter how loose her Hokage's robes were on her curvy frame, so she turned her attention to the meat she had placed on the grill. It was browning up nicely…
"How are you holding up, Hinata-chan?" Sakura asked the shy girl, as she turned over her meat slices on the grill. "It must be weird having someone else's eyes, huh…"
"I'm much clumsier than before," said Hinata softly, "but I think I'm happier without them… it's much less pressure on me…"
Hinata's little sister Hanabi was a prodigy just like their cousin Neji, which had only served to worsen her inferiority complex and her paranoia over having the Caged Bird Seal forced upon her. But without the Byakugan, she was no longer eligible for the position of clan leader, and neither would there be any reason for anyone to brand her with any cursed seals, so losing her eyes had effectively freed her from her worries.
"Still," said Sakura hesitantly, "you seem stronger than before…"
Even though there was only a minimal amount of chakra coursing through Hinata's system, seeing as she didn't need to knead any chakra while she was off duty, she was constantly emitting a faint oppressive aura which raised Sakura's hackles. Even though Sakura couldn't sense chakra without first moulding some chakra of her own, like all sensors needed to, she couldn't help but feel something awfully familiar about Hinata's demeanour in general…
"I know nii-san didn't mean me any harm when he… did what he did," said Hinata with quiet determination. "It's all thanks to him that I've grown so much…"
Unbeknownst to Sakura and company, Urashiki— the Ōtsutsuki clan member parasitising Hinata's body through the Kāma he had implanted in her— had been forced to use up crucial resources to heal her when Neji had stabbed her through the heart, making it impossible for him to take over her consciousness.
However, even though Urashiki had been reduced to nothing more than a ghost, Hinata's body was still being modified by the Kāma; she was slowly ascending to a higher level of life just by living and breathing. She currently possessed the Ōtsutsuki clan's divine physique, which meant that if she could somehow get back her pure Hyūga eyes, they would doubtlessly begin evolving into Tenseigan on the spot…
"Let's stop talking about that person, okay?" said Ino tactfully. "See— you're making Tenten all depressed…"
"It's okay," said Tenten, forcing a smile. "I'm sure that one day, everything will come to light, and we'll all be able to laugh together again…"
It was actually Tenten who had commanded Neji to act in order to save Hinata, so it's not as if his actions had taken her by surprise. Still, it had been a painful decision for Tenten to send him away , as saving Neji's life was one of the major motivating factors that had pushed her to leap backwards through time…
"I'm sure he'll come back to his senses if you smack him hard enough," said Sakura emphatically. "…Hang on, where's the meat I was preparing?"
"I'm shorry, onee-shama!" Karin mumbled through a mouthful of meat. "Thish ish for your own good!"
Sakura clicked her tongue in annoyance and placed some more raw meat onto the grill with a pair of tongs. She knew someone who wouldn't be getting their Christmas gift…
"Gllk— onee-sama," Karin choked out. "Can't… breathe! Help…!"
One quick Heimlich manoeuvre later, which Sakura had learned from Tsunade's lessons, Karin's airways were cleared of obstructions, but her body fell limply back into Sakura's arms— she appeared to have fallen unconscious… or not.
"Onee-sama…" Karin whispered faintly, puckering her lips in preparation for a kiss. "Only mouth-to-mouth resuscitation can save me now…"
"How about a glass of water instead?" suggested Sakura, pouring the glass's contents onto Karin's face. "It'll help the rest of my meat go down easier…"
"COLD!" yelped Karin.