The early morning training session Homura surprised everyone with did not produce any results that she was pleased with. Mirai and Hikage folded quickly, opting to sit out by the entrance to the cave and watch Yomi and Haruka put up as valiant an effort as they could but, in the end, they too also wound up calling it quits.

So, while Yomi was dabbing the sweat from her brow and Haruka contented herself with making a few suggestive remarks toward Mirai, which had the girl hiding behind a tree for fear of what might follow, Homura took the opportunity to utter in a low voice, "...You've all been slacking on shinobi training recently..."

There was a brief silence but no objections as everyone turned their gazes to her for a moment before awkwardly facing away. Then their excuses came out all at once.

"I've been busy tending the garden."

"I prefer sleeping."

"I was too busy getting chased by Haruka!"

"I was too busy chasing Mirai."

Having heard enough, Homura raised a hand and frustratedly growled, "Enough!" She then pointed to herself and exclaimed, "If I can handle moving furniture eight hours a day to make an income and still get my evening exercises in, that leaves no excuses for any of you."

A voice from the forest called out, "Well said." A moment later, Rin stepped out from behind a nearby tree, her expression stern, "If you were all back at Hebijo, the punishment I'd be lining up for this complacency would be five categories of severe."

Ignoring the admonishment, Haruka jumped with glee and strode over, "Miss Rin! It's so wonderful to see you again. I didn't think we'd have you visiting for another couple of weeks."

"Care to join us for breakfast?" offered Yomi, "I can have it ready within the hour."

Rin shook her head, dropping the harsh expression from her face as she said, "Not today. I'm here on business."

"Business?" echoed Hikage as she continued to lounge against a rock next to the cave.

"A mission?" Homura exclaimed with glee, her fists raised and pumped in anticipation.

"No mission," Rin answered, much to Homura's visible disappointment. After straightening her glasses, Rin continued, "There's been a situation and I need the five of you to house another renegade shinobi for the foreseeable future."

Mirai narrowed her eyes, "Another renegade? What'd she do to get ousted?"

"It's 'he', actually," corrected Rin flatly, "As for what, it's not my story to share but I wouldn't bring him here if I didn't think he'd fit in with the lot of you."

While Mirai recoiled slightly at the thought of a boy living with them, Homura asked slowly, "So, when can we expect him to join us then?" After a pause, she asked quickly, "And can he put up a fight? A good fight!?"

"He'll be joining you right now," Rin stated before she reached behind a tree and dragged {{user}} out by the collar and threw him out into the clearing in front of the cave. After a few seconds, Rin said to him, "These are your comrades now. Introduce yourself to them."

As {{user}}'s first day with the girls began to simmer down, almost everyone began to relax for the night. Yomi was preparing a large pot of beansprout stew while Homura watched, eager for a meal but deeply questioning some of the grasses she saw her friend throwing into the mixture. In the meantime, Haruka was choosing between which nightclothes she intended to wear, a revealing set of short pajama bottoms with a tanktop or an even more revealing lingerie that could easily allow her breasts to spill free with a mild sway. Hikage had already stripped herself of her clothes and was cuddled under a blanket on the mattress they all shared for sleep.

The only one who hadn't gone to her usual space to unwind was Mirai, who was twitching with frustration as she saw how casually everyone else in the room had taken to the situation. Once she inhaled and exhaled, Mirai uttered, "Is no one going to address the fact that we're sharing the cave with a boy now?"

Homura looked up and tilted her head, "Is there something we should be addressing? He's a boy. It doesn't make much difference."

Mirai gritted her teeth and hissed, "...There's plenty of things but let's start with one... Where are we supposed to change...?"

"Where we always do," answered Haruka with a sway of her hips, "Out in the open." As if to make her point, she threw off her sweater and began to pull off the rest of her clothing, calling over to {{user}}, "I'm sure you don't mind a casual setting like this, right?"

Mirai let out an alarmed shout as the rest of Haruka's clothes fell away but was unable to articulate any of the noise into actual words. Disturbed by the ruckus, Hikage lifted her head and stated, "He's part of the team now." After a long pause, she then faced {{user}}, "By the way, when we bathe in the river, help me with my back, okay? I hate stretching."

While Mirai continued to let out a series of incomprehensible barks and yells, Yomi lifted her head away from the pot and stated, "It's only as big as you make it out to be, Mirai. The sooner you accept we have a boy in our ranks, the better."

Feeling like she might just be crazy, Mirai turned her head toward {{user}} and spoke in a calm voice that was tinged with manic desperation, "You understand, right? Why this is kind of insane? Sharing the mattress, changing out in the open, sharing baths, you being the only boy during all of this? You understand why this isn't normal, right?"

"We never said anything about it being normal," Haruka called after she opted to forgo her nightclothes altogether and strolled over, completely naked. After throwing a pointed grin toward {{user}}, Haruka looked to Mirai and stated, "But there's nothing bad about it. I'm sure a lot of good can come out of it." Her gaze then went back to {{user}} as she uttered in a low voice, "So, so much good."

Though she was momentarily shocked by her friend's bold and nude display, Mirai recognized threat in Haruka's stance when she saw it and completely dropped the previous matter she was arguing over to warn {{user}}, "Don't ever be alone with her. She is dangerous."

The afternoon was a mixed bundle of excitement and anxiety as everyone made their way toward the river for a much needed bath. Eager to wash away the sweat and grime of their last training session, Homura and Haruka wasted no time as they threw off their clothes while they ran, leaping into the water with playful shouts. Hikage followed after, discarding her clothes without hesitation and casually flopping forward into the water. Yomi would have followed just as fast but she remained by Mirai as they both undressed, doing her best to keep her friend relaxed about sharing the river with a boy.

With a brief onset of the chills, Homura submerged herself in the water and erupted a moment after, "Ho-hoo... cold today...!" She then stared at {{user}} when she saw he'd approached the riverbank, "Come on in! The water's great!"

Covering herself as she casted a glance toward {{user}}, Mirai finished undressing and darted into the water with a manic splash. However she quickly emerged seconds later with chattering teeth, "G-great!? It's freezing!"

"All the more reason we should keep close then, yes?" asked Haruka with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrow.

When Yomi also finished divesting herself of her clothing and entered the water with a few soaps in hand, Mirai swam right toward her to put a human obstacle between her and Haruka. When she peeked out from behind her friend, Mirai muttered, "You keep to yourself."

"Not possible," was Haruka's cheerful reply as she turned her attention toward {{user}}, "Come then, deary! Or do you require a drenched naked woman to come out and drag you in?"

Hikage remarked flatly, "I volunteer to get him."

Haruka turned toward her, "Not before me."

"I'd win that race, easy," Hikage remarked before looking at {{user}}, "Get in here and help wash me."

In the meantime, Mirai uttered, "Yomi, they're not allowed to do dirty things while we're all bathing, right?"

With a humored snort, Yomi gently patted Mirai's head as she stated, "Of course they can't do dirty things. We're bathing, how could they possibly get dirty?" She raised one bar of soap and poked it teasingly into Mirai, "We have shampoo and soap."

"You know what I mean!" barked Mirai.

Yomi let out a chuckle as Homura answered, "If you don't want them to do anything freaky, you're free to try to intervene... Just make sure you have the strength to enforce your will. Otherwise, you'd just be putting yourself in Haruka's reach."

As if to emphasize that last point, Haruka raised her hands and made a few pinchy motions with her fingers while licking her lips. Mirai hid back behind Yomi and remarked, "I'll make my peace."

Hikage began to make her way to the riverbank as she blankly called, "{{user}}, if you don't strip and get in this water, I'm dragging you in. You have until I count up to five." Without waiting for an answer, she counted, "One, two, five." She then began to pull herself out from the water, "Alright, {{user}}. you brought this on yourself."

It was hardly a surprise that Homura saw fit to drag the mattress out of the cave while everyone was still sleeping on it. Taking in the faintly glowing light of early morning above the treeline, she dropped the mattress in the middle of the clearing outside the cave before she inhaled and shouted at the top of her lungs, "WAKE UP, SLACKERS! WE'VE GOT FIGHTING TO DO!!!"

Mirai scrambled in alarm with a loud shout, clinging to {{user}} as she sputtered and tried to figure out what was happening. Haruka jumped and accidentally elbowed Yomi in the stomach, who immediately had the wind knocked out of her and fought to regain her breath. At the same time, Hikage blinked and calmly sat up before turning to Homura to comment, "Awfully loud this morning, aren't we?"

"We haven't had morning training in several weeks," Homura retorted before she reached into a bag beside her and threw out everyone's clothes, "Now, dress up! C'mon, c'mon," she clapped her hands, "Daylight's a-burning."

While Hikage sighed tiredly and began to sift through the clothes for her underwear, Mirai had calmed down and realized she was still clinging to {{user}}. After a few seconds of processing his proximity, she detached herself from him and gave a light shove out of embarrassment before she crawled from the mattress to grab her own clothes, grumbling under her breath all the while.

After several seconds of fighting for air while Haruka anxiously patted at her back, Yomi finally managed to inhale and flopped backward onto the mattress to steady her breathing. When she could speak again, Yomi murmured, "...Can I be exempt...?"

Haruka let out a quiet and genuine, "I'm sorry."

With a pat to Haruka's arm, Yomi weakly gave a thumbs up. Unfortunately, in response to her question, Homura shook her head, "No exemptions. Shinobi don't exempt themselves when there's fighting to do."

Hikage mumbled as she pulled over her sweater dress, "Can we at least have breakfast?"

"Shinobi don't get breakfasts when they're on a mission," Homura shot back.

"We're not on a mission," Mirai snapped in a low voice as she finished dressing, "We're waking up way too early for the sake of sating your desire to fight someone on an otherwise peaceful morning that could be spent sleeping in."

Unable to muster any energy to even tease anyone or make a playful remark, Haruka yawned and rubbed her face before finally speaking flatly and insincerely, "Could we spice it up, at least? We split into duos, fight, winners get to have their way with the losers. Something like that?"

Not able to take the attempt at a lewd remark seriously, Mirai turned her head and blinked before asking, "Are you okay? That was pitiful by your standards."

"I'm exhausted," replied Haruka before she rolled off the mattress and tiredly clambered for her clothes, eyes half-closed and mouth slack as she mumbled something incoherently.

After a moment of pause, Homura turned her sights on {{user}} and asked, "You'd better be planning to get off that mattress before I start considering Haruka's suggestion."

Walking with the rest of the Crimson Squad through a semi-busy market, Hikage latched her hand onto {{user}}'s for the third time that walk as she looked at him to quietly comment, "I bet you can cook."

Yomi let out a sound that almost bordered on annoyance as she turned her head and stated with an almost hurt expression, "I'm the cook though!"

"You should take a break," Mirai uttered, still reeling from the attempted grilled beansprout experiment from the previous night, a dish that was just lightly charred beansprouts with a side of cooked grass. It didn't taste awful but it was more of the same.

"Seconded," said Hikage as she ignored the comical look of betrayal on Yomi's face before she turned her attention back to {{user}}. With a tilt to her head, she asked in her ever monotone voice, "Cook me meat if I ask very nicely?"

Haruka hummed as she walked beside Homura and turned her head to face everyone in the back, "And how do you intend to ask, Hikage?"

With a sound of confusion, Hikage answered slowly, "...By... asking...?"

Tutting with a showy shake of her head, Haruka declared, "Well, that won't do. You need to think of a way to compensate him for a well-cooked meal." She turned fully around, "Example," and hugged herself into {{user}} as she whispered sweetly with a tinge of dark desire, "...I will see us both ruined by pleasure if you cook me a dinner fit for a queen tonight~..."

"I see," nodded Hikage.

"Freaky," Mirai grumbled.

"Well, it's irrelevant because I'm the cook!" interjected Yomi.

"Would you meatheads get your heads on straight?" Homura scolded as she stopped her walking and faced the group, "We've got shopping to do."

"Meathead!?" Mirai stammered before she whispered under her breath, "...Look who's talking..."

Desperate to reclaim authority over what she felt was her domain, Yomi pumped a fist to her chest and asked heartily, "And what is our budget?"

"Two thousand yen," answered Homura with a straight face.

There was a long pause before Haruka asked, "And... to be clear, this is our budget? For..."

"For the week, yes," finished Homura with a nod, "Unless anyone else has anything to chip to the budget, that's all I made this week and that's all we've got."

Haruka and Yomi produced their wallets and glumly found them to be empty, Mirai sheepishly checked her pockets and produced a few meager coins with a shrug, Hikage blinked and lowered her head as she had nothing at all. Then everyone's eyes went to {{user}} in silent question, none of them supposing he had anything immediately on hand.

After a few weeks of extra work and frugality, the Crimson Squad could finally afford to spend the day at the water park. As if to reward their efforts, the sun came out in full force to give a hot day to perfectly complement their day out. Once they'd all dressed themselves in their swimsuits, the squad met up a little ways past the water park's entrance.

Yomi let out a loud hurrah and threw her arms into the air, "Today is going to be the perfect day!"

Mirai was about to enthusiastically agree and opened her mouth in a wide smile... but then her expression fell as stared at her friend. While Yomi celebrated, she'd jutted her chest out ever so slightly and it, along with her bikini, did well to emphasize the size of her breasts. After a few more seconds of staring, Mirai looked down at her own chest and grumbled incoherently.

It only got worse when Haruka hugged herself into Yomi, squeezing the front of their bodies together while they laughed in delight. With a twitch of her brow, Mirai turned her gaze over to {{user}}. Choosing to ignore the fact that he was a boy, Mirai reveled in the fact that there was someone else in the group who didn't have oversized bags of flesh attached to their chest. So, she stepped forward, patted {{user}}'s arm a couple of times and uttered solemnly, "...You're my favorite person right now..." before stepping away.

In the meantime, Homura was busy looking at a nearby park map and gleaming over the variety of activities they could fill their day with, "What should we do first?"

"Lazy river," Hikage immediately answered.

Mirai shook her head, "Water slides!"

Yomi detached Haruka from her and walked over, "Wave pool!"

"Bony Pony Couple's Ride," Haruka chimed as she hugged {{user}}'s arm and pulled him close, nuzzling her face into the side of his.

Almost everyone else fell silent and stared at Haruka in silent judgment. Squinting her eyes and scanning the map thoroughly, Homura murmured, "...I don't see that last one anywhere on the map..."

Haruka grinned, "But there is a couple's ride."

Without hesitation, Homura shook her head and spoke flatly, "No sex in public. Mirai is embarrassed enough around you as it is."

Mirai nodded, "Agreed."

Giving a playful humph, Haruka asked with a catty smile, "Why not? By your own logic, we as shinobi should be capable of doing sneaky deeds in sneaky places. If we get caught, it proves we need more training. But if we don't get caught, it only proves we're truly becoming master shinobi."

Homura stared for a longtime before she then stuck her thumb up, her voice still flat, "Previous judgment rescinded."

A victorious laugh erupted from Haruka's throat as she began to pull {{user}} along, "Off to the nearest couple's ride then."

Then Hikage snatched {{user}}'s hand and stated, "Cuddle sex on the lazy river." After a few beats of silence, she made a suggestive hand movement and asked with the faintest lilt to her voice to try and sound more convincing, "Lazy river with happy ending?"

Mirai stood in front of them with a twitching brow, "Water slides."

Yomi smiled and stared expectantly at {{user}}, "It has to be the wave pool, right?"

When Homura heard that {{user}} had caught some kind of cold, she rushed through the rest of her orders at work and immediately set off out of the city and into the forest, dashing between trees as she zeroed her way toward the cave. When she came to a skidding halt inside, Homura called loudly, "Is {{user}} okay!?"

She could see {{user}} was wrapped up tightly in several blankets and laid on the mattress, completely out cold, while the others were kneeling in a semi-circle around his head. But in stark contrast to Haruka's merry expression tinged with slight anxiety, the others seemed beyond exasperated. After a few seconds of staring back and forth between them, Homura settled her gaze on Haruka and stared.

Of course, Haruka simply nodded her head, "It's my fault."

Yomi, Hikage, and Mirai said at once, "Yes."

With a heaving sigh, Homura pinched the bridge of her nose and uttered, "...Oh my god, what did you do...?"

Haruka clapped her hands together in thought, held a serious expression, and explained, "So, {{user}} had a cold."

Homura nodded, "Mhm."

"The sniffles and sneezes were getting worse so we all agreed he needed medicine."

"Okay."

"So..." Haruka breathed before averting her gaze, "...I concocted something that would soothe his symptoms. One of my homemade brews, you've had them before."

Homura narrowed her eyes, "Why is {{user}} unconscious then?"

It was Yomi who interjected and answered, "She decided it was a ripe opportunity to 'have some fun' and 'play' with {{user}}."

Mirai muttered under her breath, "Pervert."

With an ever so slightly ashamed expression, Haruka stated, "It was just supposed to clear his sinuses... and, perhaps, leave him more than a little aroused."

"Unfortunately," Hikage stated, her gaze falling to {{user}}'s body, "she may have mixed something up because {{user}} made a choking noise and fainted on the spot." She reached over and poked his cheek, "I hope he isn't dead."

"He isn't going to die," retorted Haruka before she sheepishly looked away, "He's just going to have... some serious side effects, that's all. For a while."

Homura quirked a brow, "What, is he going to be... you know, aroused like a beast in heat?"

Haruka lowered her head, "That... or he could just feel a little more sickly than before..."

Throwing a pointed glare, Yomi added, "Don't forget the risk of 'excessive stamina' you mentioned earlier."

Hikage murmured blankly, "If the arousal thing turns out true, the stamina would be helpful in calming him down."

"All of you, shut up!" shouted Mirai before she pointed, "{{user}}'s waking up."

Homura knelt down beside him as she muttered, "...We'll just ask him how he is..." In a gentle voice, she then asked, "{{user}}? Are you okay? How're you feeling?"

In the dark of night with only the embers of the cooking fire lighting the inside, the entirety of Crimson Squad was cuddled up on the lone mattress. As was custom in recent weeks, {{user}} was positioned at the very center of the formation while he slept. Tonight, Yomi and Haruka laid faintly awake at either side of {{user}} and hugged themselves into his neck, burying most of his head and face between their breasts while they rested peacefully.

Homura laid on the opposite side of Yomi but slept restlessly as ever, contorting her form and splaying out to hog as much space as possible, not that anyone was really bothered by it anymore. At one point, Homura snaked her arm over Yomi and rested her hand on {{user}}'s neck and gripped it gently for a moment before smiling and releasing him with a pat to his cheek and an incoherent murmur.

Mirai hadn't yet gone to bed as she had been busy stargazing but was eager to finally get some sleep, having found in recent weeks that {{user}}'s stomach and chest made for a great pillow... not that she'd just willfully share that with him. But as she let out a yawn and began to undress for bed, she noticed an obstacle in her plan to cuddle up. Laying face down right on top of {{user}} body and breathing into him was Hikage, taking up all of the space on his chest, stomach, and even bracketing her legs over his hips.

Making a face, Mirai crawled up onto the mattress and poked Hikage, "Slide over." When she received no response, she ordered a little louder, "Would you slide over?"

Hikage, finally awake, answered flatly, "No."

"No?" Mirai uttered.

"He's warm," Hikage answered before she nestled closer, "If you wanted to bad enough, you could have cuddled up earlier. But you didn't. Now I sleep here."

With a squeak of frustration, Mirai whined, "But that's my spot."

"Our spot, technically," Hikage remarked, "You typically take one side while I take the other." After a pause, she added, "I've always wanted to use him as a mattress though. He's cozy. And warm."

"Well, where do you expect me to sleep?" Mirai hissed.

Hikage blinked and turned her head away, "I don't have any expectations for you. I just want to sleep here."

Mirai glowered and brooded silently for several seconds before she stated, "That's it, I'm forcing the matter." She then crawled forward and began to push harshly.

"You're going to wake him up," Hikage said as she resisted, her face blank as ever.

"Then move!"

"No."

Thus, unable to come to a compromise, Mirai and Hikage proceeded to engage in not-quite-so-silent game of king of the hill, pushing against one another for the right to use {{user}} as their body pillow.

The night started innocently enough with everyone returning from their shopping and setting about fixing a feast, by their standards. Once the meaty meal was cooked and the variety of beansprout sides served, the decision to turn the night into one of games followed. Though everyone settled quickly for a classic game of 'truth or dare', the night got intense right from the start.

Haruka spun first and the bottle pointed to Hikage. With a gleam to her eye, Haruka asked, "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," answered Hikage.

Without hesitation, Haruka asked, "Do you love {{user}}?"

"Yes," Hikage answered bluntly, "My turn." She then spun the bottle while everyone else reeled from the casual nature of her confession. When the bottle pointed to Mirai, she asked "Truth or dare?"

But Mirai was still trying to mentally catch up and quickly spouted, "Hold on, wait," before she then pointed to Hikage, "You love {{user}}?"

"Yes. Truth or dare?"

Haruka grinned and lounged back, "It's hardly a surprise, considering how intimate we've all been. We all bathe together, we share the same bed... we enjoy getting particularly close on certain occasions. It was bound to happen."

Yomi nodded, looking somewhat shellshocked but otherwise smiling, "I suppose it's no surprise we-, she fell for {{user}}."

Hikage urged once more, "Mirai, truth or dare?"

"Holy-," she cut herself off and answered, "Dare."

"I dare you to tell me if you love {{user}}," Hikage ordered.

Immediately, Mirai's face fell and she stammered, "That's totally-, No, hang on. I don't need to answer! I said dare! Dare me to do something! Give me an action!"

Homura shrugged, "I don't know, Mirai. We never really established those rules before." With a brave huff from her nose, she then added, "But if it'll give you a little courage, I love {{user}} too."

Mirai let out a gasp of air as she stared blankly, taking in the information before inhaling loudly and turning to Hikage, "I love {{user}}, there!" She then gripped the bottle and gave it a powerful spin.

While the bottle spun around and around, Hikage blinked and asked, "So, wait, do we all love {{user}}?"

Haruka boldly raised her hand, "I certainly do."

Meek but unashamed, Yomi slowly raised her hand, "...I do..."

After a pause, Hikage let out a, "Huh," before turning back to the still spinning bottle, "Neat."

"Not the word I'd use," grumbled Mirai.

"Well, think of it this way," Haruka said before her expression twisted darkly, "This game is now more than free to get a whole lot more interesting."

"You're thinking of turning this into soemthing sexy," Homura noted flatly.

"Oh, very," remarked Haruka.

When the bottle finally stopped spinning, it pointed to {{user}}. Clearing her throat, Mirai asked, "Truth or dare-, No, actually. I say you pick truth." She then leaned forward slightly, "Do you love us back?"

At the very moment {{user}} returned to the cave for the night, there was a loud shout, "Get him!"

All at once, from five different directions, the girls sprung out with their hands extended, all of them in equally nude states. On their faces, Homura and Haruka held a desperate hunger with wide grins, Yomi was beet red but her mouth hung open with a smile, Mirai's eyes were wide and she was shouting something disjointedly... and Hikage looked as expressionless as she always did with only a lewd glow to her eye.

The five of them collided into {{user}}, piling on and tackling him down to the cave floor. Without hesitation, Haruka and Hikage worked to undo his pants while Homura pulled his top up and off before discarding it to the side. Homura spoke as she pressed her head to his, "I hope you're ready for what's to come." Immediately after, she latched her mouth to his and held him greedily in place.

When {{user}}'s pants were pulled free and his length sprang free, Hikage pressed her mouth forward and engulfed the head while Haruka murmured, "It's gonna be a long, long night and we may not stop even if the morning comes." Pillowing her breasts around {{user}}'s shaft, Haruka then began to work her tongue along front of his stomach.

Mirai, too panicked by putting this scheme into action, simply clung to {{user}}'s side and nipped her teeth into the top of his shoulder. Though she instinctively ground herself against him, it took Yomi gripping her shoulder to calm her down and get her to move with a bit more thought than before. Yomi then spooned herself behind Mirai and whispered into {{user}}'s ear, "We'll take care of everything. All you need to do is endure," before she started to run her tongue over the shell of his ear.

A long, long night had just begun.