Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden Tactics ❯ Unexpected Mission ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

“There you are Naruto! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Sakura yelled as soon as the pair came into view.
“Hey Sakura-chan!” he called back. He waved slightly and they approached her.
“Hi Hinata-chan, are you ready for your mission?” Sakura asked in a polite tone. Hinata nodded and couldn’t open her mouth. Sakura smiled encouragingly and grabbed Naruto’s arm.
“Wait here Hinata and I’ll walk you the rest of the way.” He stated as he was dragged out of the range of hearing.
“You are to go on the mission with Hinata. I don’t know why, and please don’t argue with the Hokage, I’ve already tried and she isn’t budging.” Sakura barely spoke above a whisper but Naruto did not get the hint.
“WHAT?!?! WHAT ABOUT FINDING SASUKE? SHE CAN’T LET ME GO! I WON’T ALLOW HER TO!” he started to shout not taking notice of the shy little girl turning a ghastly shade of white a few feet away. Yet Sakura did notice this and gently placed a hand over his mouth.
“Don’t make me hurt you Naruto, you will do this mission. Look at Hinata-chan and tell her that she is not good enough to go on a mission with you. I’m sure that is what she will think whether you mean it that way or not. Choose your words wisely around her. It took Kiba and Shino these three years to make her gain confidence and with a badly placed word now, it could take them another three. They do not have that time. We do not have that time either.” She spoke softly still but her tone was steely. Nothing Naruto said would have been convincing. He didn’t dare speak back after looking at Hinata. The girl was staring at her feet pretending not to hear but he could see his words before hit something inside her. He sighed then nodded. He walked back to Hinata.
“So are you ready to go?” He asked then he smiled brightly again. She nodded and did not meet his eyes. Is this what Sakura-chan was talking about? He wondered.

“And that’s your mission. Naruto, you are going to assume the role of Hinata’s boyfriend, or husband. I don’t really care. It is obvious though that you are not related to her. Hinata, you do understand your role in this right?”
The girl nodded and tried to hide her bright red face in her hair. Naruto-kun was going to be her boyfriend. Even if it was just in the mission, Hinata couldn’t help but smile at the prospect of it.
“Good! Naruto, I’m surprised you haven’t argued with me over this yet. I was sure you wanted to go on the mission to find out about Sasuke.”
“Well, it’s probably for the best if I don’t. I mean, there are still people looking for me and who else is there to protect Hinata?” He winked at the shy girl. “Not that she will need my protection.” Hinata smiled at his praise despite her fear for this mission. “So, Hinata, which would you prefer? Would you rather me be your boyfriend or your husband?”
At those words, Hinata fainted.

“Baa-san are you absolutely sure that Hinata will be able to do this mission?” Naruto asked as he picked up the girl and started to carry her to his house. “If she stresses herself anymore and faints like this then I’m worried about her.”
Tsunade laughed at Naruto’s remark. “I choose Hinata because she can be invisible. You will be her loud mouth boyfriend who everyone focuses on while she can complete the mission. Don’t worry about my choices Naruto. Besides, Hinata seemed to collapse after you asked her about being her boyfriend. I don’t think she expected that.” Tsunade tried to reply as nonchalantly as possible but she couldn’t help but notice the boy’s guilty look. “Hey Naruto, what did you do to Hinata anyways?”
“Why are you always blaming me!?!” He cried. She lifted an eyebrow and he sighed. “I kind of knocked her out the other day when we were training. She also woke up in my pajamas.” He looked at the ground.
“Sakura told me about the injury, but I did not hear of the pajamas. She said the nightgown was rather short though.” Naruto blushed and Tsunade smiled slightly. “Well, she’ll be ok. I think it was the shock of this mission got to her. You should take her back to your house and let her relax a bit. I’ll send Sakura over later to check on her.” Tsunade shook her head and left the room.
He glanced at the girl in his arms then sighed. She looked adorable when she slept. His eyes went wide at the thought then he shook his head to get ride of it. This was Hinata, the Hyuuga heir. She wouldn’t care about him. He sighed again and looked at her sleeping face. How beautiful her lips were, slightly parted, he wanted to lean over and kiss them.

Hinata woke up again in Naruto’s bed. This time however, she rose slowly and looked at herself in his mirror. He left her in what she was wearing earlier, that was good to know. She smiled slightly then walked out into his kitchen.
Naruto was not there though. She glanced around and found him sleeping in a chair close to his room. At least he gave her some privacy. She smiled and looked at the slack expression on his face. He looked even cuter when he was asleep. Not that it took much to make her like him. She smiled despite herself but as she approached, she noticed that his shirt was unbuttoned. Naruto’s pale chest shown underneath and she could detect a hint of the seal. Curiosity won her over and she tiptoed up to him and started to move the jacket away from the center. She took in a deep breath though when she started to notice how much skin was showing.
“Hinata…” he mumbled. She jumped back and looked at him. “I think… this mission will be great.” Naruto then turned over and went back to sleep. Hinata smiled and took one of his arms around her shoulders. She lifted him gently and placed him in his own bed. While leaning over his sleeping form, she reached out and brushed some stray hairs off his face. His hand snatched out and latched onto her arm.
Hinata’s face was beet red. She gently tried to pry her arm away but Naruto would not loosen his grasp. She sighed and sat down on the end of the bed. Her face was still redder than a tomato.

When Naruto woke up, it surprised him that he was in his own bed. What surprised him more was the weight on his chest. It wasn’t much but enough to draw attention to it. He glanced down and saw that Hinata fell asleep on top of him. He smiled, closed his eyes, and breathed in her scent. His change in breathing woke the sleeping girl.
“Naruto-kun! I’m so sorry! I was laying you down and you grabbed onto my arm…” He pressed his fingers to her lips.
“It’s ok Hinata. Don’t worry.” He smiled and then glanced at her. “I didn’t hurt you when I grabbed you did I?” Naruto glanced at her wrist. She held it out then shook her head. “Good, we should get going.” He stated. Naruto started to turn slightly pink when he realized that he stuck her there all night. Of course, she would never want to cuddle with him, a beast. She was no different from the rest of the village. He shook his head to rid himself of thoughts and off the pair went.
“Naruto-kun” she was staring at her feet again, “I’m sorry that you were forced to come on this mission.”
“What are you talking about? I think this will be great and I wanted to come on this mission.” He gave her a huge smile then they walked in silence for a while.

Something about her quiet presence calmed him. He was still anxious about finding Sasuke and gaining the title Hokage, but he wasn’t bothered as much by what lied ahead when he was with her. His past did not seem as important when she was by his side. It surprised and shocked him that her presence would have a profound impact on him. He smiled at the girl then jabbed her in the shoulder. Her eyes lifted and he finally met hers with his own. “Hinata-chan… What’s your clan like?”
She blinked in surprise before she looked ahead. “Well, I don’t really know if I can explain.” She glanced at him and then back at the ground. “Besides, it would be rather lengthy and I don’t think you would want to hear.”
“Why wouldn’t I? Explain it to me Hinata-chan, please?” he grabbed her slightly and turned her to face him.
She sighed, “Hai Naruto-kun.” He paid apt attention to her, which made the journey feel faster. She blushed whenever she met his eyes but he didn’t seem to notice. He kept looking ahead and nodding, yet every once in a while Hinata got the impression that he blushed after looking at her for a long period. Was he thinking that I am a joke? What was running through his mind?
All the while Naruto was concentrating on her words. After a while, when he found himself looking at her and his thoughts started to flash to her in his pajamas, he would turn away. What would Hinata-chan think of me if I thought of her that way? He sighed and turned back to her. At the moment, there was a stray strand of hair in her face. He reached out gently and brushed it away. Her eyes went wide when he did and she stuttered a tad bit in her explanation.
“Hey Hinata, what do you know about me?” he asked gently.
She blinked. “I guess not that much. I know you didn’t have parents. You are braver than I. You have the confidence that I lack, you were never a great student yet you were always outspoken. I believe that is all, Naruto-kun. Oh, and your favorite food is ramen.”
Naruto smiled and grabbed her arm gently. “Hey Hinata-chan, what do you say to going swimming? I know where this great little lake is.”
“Naruto-kun what about the mission?” Hinata asked breathily.
“Well, at the moment we are ahead of schedule right? We can spend a few hours swimming.” He flashed her his trademark smile and kept dragging her behind him.
“Naruto-kun… I don’t have a suit!” she cried in her last attempt to sway his mind. He appeared not to have heard though.

“Hey Hinata-chan! Jump in!” Naruto cried from his position in the middle of the lake. He stripped down to his boxors when they reached the lake and dived in immediately. Hinata stood still on the shore refusing to move one bit.
She sighed and stripped off her clothes carefully. A bathing suit was the same idea as underwear, She thought. She then climbed in after him. Surprisingly, the water was not as cold as she expected it to be.
Naruto stared. He couldn’t believe that she would come in. Especially not without her clothes. He shook his head immediately to get that thought out of his mind. He swam over fast and splashed her. “Hinata-chan, let’s race!”
She nodded at him and they took off. He kept slowing down because he didn’t want to lose her but he didn’t dare let her in front of him for fear of what thoughts his mind would come up with. At the last turn around the lake, he fell behind her and caught a nice sight of her legs. It was worth the mission if he got to see that.
“Hinata-chan, you won! I will beat you next time though!” He smiled his trademark smile and she swooned. Her face went all red and she murmured a thanks.

“NARUTO! HINATA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” a distant figure called.

“Kiba-kun! We were swimming!” Hinata called out and swam towards the shore to greet her teammate and his dog. “Akamaru, did you find us?”
“No. It was my bugs who found you.” A dark haired lad in dark glasses stated from behind Kiba.
“Shino-kun! What are you doing here?” Hinata cried happily. It was nice to be back with her team. She always felt secure when she was with them. Not that Naruto couldn’t protect her, she just wasn’t used to being around him yet.
“Well, you see, Tsunade-sama sent us to watch over you two. We’re your backup.” Kiba stated while giving Naruto a evil look. What was that boy doing anyways with Hinata? Kiba wondered
“Hai, Tsunade thought that you might need back up since Naruto wouldn’t leave for backup if something happened.” Shino stated calmly.
Kiba laughed and Naruto stared. “Are you saying I couldn’t protect Hinata-chan!” somewhere along the time the honorific started to follow her name. Shino and Kiba noted this change but said nothing.
“Naruto-kun, it’s ok. They were worried about me.” Hinata stated quietly while she gazed at her feet.
Naruto looked up at her and whatever protest he was about to make died in his throat. Her long hair fell gently into her face and she looked more lovely than any other girl he had seen. Something changed about him, before he left, he only looked at Sakura, he figured he liked girls like that. The loud type that was smart but something about this girl’s quiet presence touched him.
“Hai Hinata-chan.” He murmured. Shino and Kiba gave each other a significant glance in where Kiba’s face turned into a giant grin.
“Hey Naruto! I know we weren’t supposed to meet up yet, but shouldn’t we all be going? Kiba and I will follow you at a distance,” Shino commented to get the crew moving. He wanted Hinata to do her best on her first mission that was technically without them.
“Let’s go Hinata-chan” Naruto said.
“Naruto, don’t you think Hinata should get dressed first?” Kiba’s coat was suddenly around her hiding her. Hinata's face went even redder and she immediately ran off to find her clothes. Naruto's face was priceless. First, he stared, then he turned a red that could have matched Hinata's tomato coloring. Kiba did his best to keep from laughing. Shino gave the others a look before he shook his head slightly and grabbed Kiba.
"Comeon Kiba," were the only words out of his mouth.
"But... my coat!" Kiba cried.
"You'll be able to get it back from Hinata shortly," Shino stated matter-of-factly.