The Therapist
Chapter One

o o o o o o o o o o

All chapters have been or will be edited!

"HIRING
A medical skilled in
the arts of massage.
Must be 18 or older.
More info at-
9:00- 11:
10 Apr- "

Hyuga Hinata tore the hastily taped, crinkled paper off the streetlight. The bottom corner of the paper was ripped off, but it didn't matter. This paper meant the possible start of her future, a purpose for her life! She reread the big black words, feeling the letters in her mouth. Readjusting her bookbag, she looked down at the paper again and her smile faded.

This paper doesn't say where to meet, she thought. Is it a prank? It seems almost too good to be true.

She frowned deeply, thinking for a moment. I'll just go to Tsunade-sama. Hopefully she will confirm this as a valid job...

The sun gently settled itself behind the distant hills, casting exaggerated shadows as the streetlights crackled to life. Hinata slowly breathed in the cool effluence of dusk-chilled foliage and listened to a raven cry his last caws of the day, allowing the atmosphere to calm her senses. Then she looked both ways before stuffing the paper into her pocket and crossing the streets that lead to the Hokage building. Apprehension filled her with every step.

Please, please, please, God, she begged. Make this chance my future. Please, give me a purpose!

o o o o o o o o o o

The Hokage read the flyer while Hinata watched her with large, nervous eyes. A critical expression crossed Tsunade's face and she put the flyer down on the table.

"Is-is something wrong, Tsunade-sama?" Hinata anxiously asked.

"Firstly, it's quite unusual for bathhouses to advertise job offers on the streets," Tsunade explained. "Besides, there's only a handful of trained masseurs in Konoha and I don't recall any of them resigning."

"Then...is it ineligible?"

"Not quite. Let's check...April 10, that's tomorrow...job as masseur, obviously at a relaxation house. Shizune! Bring me the latest employment feeds of the bath and tea houses. Also send someone to find and bring back a flyer that resembles this one."

Shizune nodded and went to fulfill her orders. Tsunade thumbed through the feeds immediately after receiving them. She stopped at a page, and her eyes crinkled with glee as she separated it from the pile. Then as she stared at Hinata over the rim of the paper, her expression grew solemn. Hinata felt her heart sink. Within minutes a Chuunin landed upon the Hokage's window, a small piece of torn paper in his outstetched hand.

"This is the missing part of the flyer. There was no other flyer in town, Tsunade-sama," he said. Tsunade nodded and gestured to Hinata. Hinata took the scrap of paper, fitted it with the flyer, then examined the complete lettering.

"'Hiring: A medical skilled in the art of massage. Eighteen or older. More info at—'"

As Hinata continued to read the paper, Tsunade reached into a drawer behind her desk and pulled out a packet. Hinata finished reading and watched to see what the Hokage was doing.

"Hinata, come here. There is something more important I have for you."

Hinata looked at the Hokage questioningly and carefully tucked the frayed paper into her bookbag. Tsunade wiggled the packet while looking mischievously at the woman before her.

"Well, Hinata. It doesn't say anywhere on the feeds that there had been a employee withdrawal from the bathhouses." Suddenly, Tsunade smiled and handed Hinata the sheets. Hinata took it and thumbed through the papers. Her name was written on the first page in red ink, along with a handwritten note. Stapled to the back were directions to a bathhouse, her certificates, a resume and a job application. She lifted an eyebrow and looked at Tsunade, feeling confused but sensing a dormant hope rising in her.

"Hokage-sama? What's this?" She was nervous to ask.

"I sent a recommendation to any competent bathhouse to take you in as a masseur. This was the only one that was interested. But," Tsunade said quickly, stopping the look of sorrow from forming on Hinata's face, "Look. Right there. The very signature of the mistress of Yuuto Springs."

The hope became a half-risen sun, piercing into Hinata's eyes and making her tear up. "T-Tsunade-sama? T-The Yuuto Springs?"

The Yuuto Springs was the most prestigious bathhouse resort in the Leaf Country, situated right on the lushest border of Konoha. Kages, lords, and powerful shinobi from other countries all passed through Yuuto at some point during a visit to the Leaf Country. A professional masseur working at the Yuuto Springs was highly admired and envied by workers at lower-class bathhouses. Not just because of the ensuing benefits and admiration, but the masseur would also have the opportunity to meet and serve the prestigious or notorious people who passed by.

Tsunade gave the slender woman a warm, loving smile. "You've been working very hard in all your years at that prestigious medical college and you've surpassed every student. I saw only you fit to be given a rare opportunity like that."

"T-Thank you so very much, Tsunade-sama!" Hinata cried. She gave the Hokage a joyful squeeze, unable to stop the tears of joy from dripping out. Tsunade returned the hug and placed a hand on Hinata's cheek.

"Maybe," she said," maybe it is God who had pained you so much these past years, but maybe He will soon be giving back to you. Like this job offer." She gestured to Hinata's bookbag. "I was meaning to surprise you with this tomorrow, but maybe it was meant to be today since that flyer changed things. Throw it away."

Hinata bowed deeply to the Hokage again and flew out the door, giggling like a tickled mouse in spite of herself. Local neighbors and fellow rooftop ninja craned their necks to indulge in a glimpse of the extremely reserved Hyuuga girl prance and squeal throughout the streets.

o o o o o o o o o o

Finally, all those years of hard work were paying off! Hinata remembered her last day of at the Chuunin academy, still seventeen and unsure of her future. She was too frail to continue being a ninja- let alone a successful one- and not intelligent enough to become a fully fledged medic. She also wasn't what someone would call an artisan, but she enjoyed working with her hands. Her father pushed her to attend medical school anyway. Her summer was half spent in despair, with the prospect of having a foggy future. But she found out the medical school offered courses in massage therapy. She worked feverishly and nonstop. Her skills grew frightfully fast, and she forged herself a modest but sturdy reputation of the "best masseur student". However, this title was quickly exchanged for a depressing price; other students refused to befriend her because of jealousy, and without connections she was unable to find any job offers quickly.

One by one, all her classmates left the college with purposes for their lives and a job to practice their skills with. All but Hinata. No friends, no job offers, no reason to apply her education. She ended up living in a crumbling apartment with a fifty-cent weekly rent; Hiashi was too disappointed to take her back into the house. But Tsunade-sama tried to help, and help she did. Because of her, Hinata had a job offer from the Yuuto Springs, the most famous and flourishing bathhouse in all of Leaf Country!

Hinata ran into her room and wiped her eyes. Concentrating hard, she read through the documents, memorizing the directions to the bathhouse. She flipped to Tsunade's note.

Dear Hikaru-san,
Hyuga Hinata is a girl of remarkable talent and stands out in her kindness. To be honest her shy, soft nature heavily impacts her voice and tact, but inside she is a well-intentioned, ever-positive and ever-enduring soldier through hard work and experiences. Hinata also has the remarkable ability to incorporate her greatest determinations with her short-comings; she sacrifices comfort to expand her boundaries to their largest. She will be able to fulfill what duties you would appoint her.
-Hokage

Hinata suddenly felt a bit nervous. Tsunade-sama sounded so proud of her. And what were these abilities that Tsunade's words claimed she possessed? Was it possible to have confidence in a part of herself she did not know she had? She knew that any mistress of a famous bathhouse would be sharp as a hawk and overwhelmingly critical. And with a recommendation from the Hokage, who knows what other hidden expectations they would want from her! Hinata ignored the uncomfortable, churning sensation in her gut and took a deep breath. She couldn't think like this. She needed confidence. There was a reason why the Hokage had recommended her and she would show it.

A sudden realization made her reach for her bookbag and dig the flyer from its contents. It read: "Hiring: A medic skilled in the art of massage. Must be eighteen or older. More info at the 5th office at the Yuuto Springs Resort. 9:00-10:00 p.m. on 10, April." The woman cocked her head and raised her eyebrow.

Why did Tsunade-sama say this was useless? She wondered. Then she smiled. Going to her desk, she tore three pieces of tape and proceeded to attach the pieces of flyer together. She retrieved an old picture frame from her closet and framed the flyer.

"A clearing of sunlight in a landscape of darkness," she announced quietly. Then she smiled and dug through her drawers, tossing her best clothes onto the bedspread. Showtime.

Hinata froze at the sight of Yuuto Springs Resort. It was the largest and most beautiful bathhouse she'd ever seen. She was scared to even approach its property; the entrance literally glowed in its magnificence. There was a garden in front of the bathhouse flanked by a tunnel of healthy sakura trees, a koi pond filled with large elegant fish, and rocks carpeted with soft green moss. Fireflies floated lazily throughout the air and floor lanterns gave off a soft, orange light. Wooden wind chimes tinkled softly in the trees. Glass bowls filled with lit candles floated lazily throughout the pond, emitting a soft warm smell of charcoal. A glistening cherry-finished wooden bridge assisted by a path of polished stepping stones led the way into the bathhouse.

Inside, large pillars made of polished dark wood trimmed the high ceilings. Golden bowls containing glowing embers hung from the beams, providing the room with warm light. The place looked old-fashioned, with raised wooden floors and aged golden tatami mats upon them. The warm orange walls were decorated with richly detailed paintings and lovely clay sculptures were displayed on wooden shelves and brackets. An olive tree was in the middle of the room, holding candles upon its crooked branches.

Hinata clutched her papers to her chest and stared. She had tried dressing up for the occasion: curled hair, a fitted outfit, some lip balm. But simply standing in the presence of this building made her feel extremely inferior and out of place.

Perhaps the workers here are beautiful as well, she thought with some dread. Hinata became aware of another person watching her. She spun around and was face to face with a very pretty young woman around her age, with light tan hair and stunning blue eyes. She wore a fitted black kimono of sorts with rolled-up sleeves and a pattern of kanji at the hems, tied at the waist with a lightly colored silk belt that matched her eyes.

"Hello, my name is Ino," the girl said, smiling at Hinata. "Are you lost?" She scrutinized Hinata's outfit, her expression unreadable.

Hinata swallowed hard and tried not to stutter. "Oh...well, I-I'm h-here for t-the m-masseur job..."

Ino gasped and clapped her hands with surprise. "Oh wooow! It's you? Come, follow me! What was your name again?"

"H-Hyuga Hinata."

"Hyuga Hinata? Your name sounds pretty familiar. My friends who went to med school would talk a lot about a Hyuuga girl who gave epic massages."

"R-really?"

Ino led Hinata through halls with sliding paper-screen doors, chattering all the while. Hinata could hear loud raucous laughter and see many moving silhouettes behind the paper.

"You know that Yuuto Hikari-sama is the mistress of this bathhouse right? The workers all call her Matriarch. She can be very strict and scary. The reason why a lot of the staff here know your name is because she like never hires masseurs out of college unless they're really really good! And word got around that the Hokage herself recommended you, like wow, so crazy—it IS true you got the Hokage's recommendation, right?"

"Y-Yes...it's right here—"

"—Wow! I bet you're awesome with your skills. Anyway, so it's pretty rare for her to fire anyone here, because Yuuto likes to keep workers until their death or retirement or something like that, and also because she puts allllll" —Ino gestured with her arms— "this thought into someone she's gonna hire, so that she won't have to keep seeing new people. Also like, the masseur is so much more valuable than us bathhouse workers because so many of the prestigious people who come to this bathhouse always requests a relaxing massage for their strained muscles and stuff, because you know that a lot of ninjas come here, right? I think she'll eventually expect you to make like one-fourth of the bathhouse's earnings, something like that, and like, its so crazy how she could fire someone as good as Sakura anyway..."

"S-Sakura?"

"Yeah. Haruno Sakura. You know her?"

Hinata froze at the name. Haruno Sakura. She knew Sakura from college. Sakura wasn't her best friend, but she was one of the very few people who ignored the jealousy and enjoyed her quiet company instead. They had teamed together often for massage exams and Sakura was very good at what she did. Hinata liked her very much and was very glad when she found out Sakura left college with a very good job, probably this one. She felt guilt when realizing she might be replacing Sakura.

"You don't know her, huh?" Ino flipped a section of her cornsilk hair behind her shoulder. "Sakura...she like...well...did something really icky." She gave a disgusted scoff.

Hinata glanced at Ino, her expression shocked. "Icky?"

Ino balled her hands into fists. "Yeah! Well, when she was here, she did took advantage of some things—they were really nasty things!—something that..."

Hinata was unable to listen to Ino once they reached the heart of the building. It was a massive room, and a glorious sight; unlike other bathhouses where there would simply be a hot spring walled in half by gender, there were separate steaming springs with a small patio built around it, surrounded by a wooden screen for privacy. Beautiful flowering vines weaved through cracks and around the bamboo poles of the walls, holding everything in place. In one corner of the room there was a large pile of rocks with a steaming waterfall, supplying all the springs in the room with fresh steaming water. Along another wall of the large room was a series of stairs leading to sections of veranda where people were eating or drinking.

In the very center of the room was a massive tree. When Hinata looked up the tree grew all the way to the ceiling of the bathhouse-past all seven floors and through the bridges and staircases crisscrossing across the floors. Veils of moss hung from the limbs, and through the foliage Hinata could actually see hammocks and people resting against the branches.

She was sad when they left the room to enter another hallway. The hallway was very steamy and smelled densely of sweat and aloe. Ino leaned towards Hinata. "This is the sauna section of our bathhouse. There's shelves of waterproof books and scented towels. I know you think it smells funny, but it's believed that aloe's very good for your skin. And also, sweating excessively gives your skin a beautiful glow. See mine?"

Ino held out her hand for Hinata to see.

"I do sauna treatment once a week. Keeps my skin soft and glowing. Oh, this next floor we're going to is the beauty floor. Manicures, pedicures and facials and all that stuff. Something funny: guys get facials just as much as girls."

Hinata and Ino climbed a set of stairs. They reached the second floor and Hinata realized she was standing on the second balcony overlooking the hot spring room.

"Like, sooo amazing, isn't it? Oh and...Hinata? Hinata, right? What a beautiful name. Anyway, the floor above us is the kitchen. Yuuto has the best food out of all the bathhouses. We grow our own sushi here...Chouji, our cook, can make ANY dish you ask of him. Masseurs here are sooo lucky, cause Chouji will make whatever they request! We normal bathhouse workers are forbidden unless it's like, our birthday or something. When you get accepted, we HAVE to eat lunch together! Oh my gosh!"

They climbed the stairs to the kitchen floor. Hinata actually saw drool on the corner of Ino's lips as they passed the kitchen. She couldn't help but feel like drooling herself; the delicious scents spewing out of the swinging doors were mouth-watering. Just then, the doors opened and a very large man poked his head out, grinning at Hinata.

"I know you," he called out happily. Hinata recoiled. Ino hissed at the man and he retreated back into the doors. "That's Chouji," she said, rolling her eyes. They continued up the next flight of stairs.

"Okay, Hinata, so this floor here is the masseur's workplace and aromatherapy cells. The two other floors above are the same. They're the 'relax without getting wet' floors. And the last floor is the office," Ino said. "I hope you do good with the interview, by the way. How are you feeling?" She watched Hinata's face.

Feeling her cheeks burn, Hinata's fingers slowly rose to poke together as it was her customary habit of expressing nervousness or embarrassment. She looked down at her shoes and breathed deeply.

"Here's some advice," Ino said. "Be confident. You know. Don't act all stupid from fear or anything. She doesn't like fools. She also hates dishonesty. She knows if you're lying or not. So don't lie. If you lie to her, then you're fired. Being honest no matter how much wrong you have done is always better than lying to get away, she says."

Hinata nodded, and looked up at the last floor. It looked ominous. "Um, Ino-chan?"

Ino smiled at Hinata's quiet voice. "Yes?"

"I...I...What if I can't make it?"

Ino shook her head and frowned deeply. "Don't think that! You gotta be positive about these things!"

"Do you suppose I might—"

"Hinata, I wish I could speak of what might happen to you. But whatever happens, I wish you the best."

Hinata nodded and breathed quietly in relief. "Thank you."

"We're here."

Hinata snapped up her eyes and stared. They were at the seventh floor, in front of a pair of richly painted, crescent-shaped doors. She hesitated, then slowly and loudly tapped on one door.

"Come inside," called a smooth voice from behind the doors.

Ino looked at Hinata and patted her shoulder. "Good luck," she whispered. "I hope you make it!" She smiled and gave Hinata the thumbs up.

"T-Thank you." Hinata nodded, gulped, clutched the papers to her chest and slowly pushed open the door.

I did a snippet of research. Masseurs do not, in fact, make lots of money, and the job itself compared to law or medicine is basically a ball python against an anaconda. Not that it's bad or anything. And this is a story so, who cares. Heh. (: