Chapter One
Time Period: Just two weeks after the Bikochu arc.
Naruto awoke to the sound of footsteps coming from his kitchen. 'What the hell is that noise.' He thought to himself as he quietly got out of bed. Grabing a kunia he crept softly to where the noise was coming from. He located a shadowy figure standing in his kitchen, he gripped the kunia and through it as hard as he could….
It hit its mark dead on center. No sound came from the figure as he swiftly pulled the kunia from his arm. Naruto charged at the figure but it smoothly doged the tackle. Jumping on top of Naruto it pinned him to the ground.
"Well I must say I'm surprised, I did not expect you to wake up for a few more hours." The voice was very calm with a slight tone of authority."
"What do you mean, who the hell are you!?" a screaming Naruto demanded.
"In good time young one, but for now…"
THUNK…
Naruto awoke on his kitchen floor with an enormous bruise on the back of his head. 'Who the hell was that. Well whoever it was they didn't take anything. But I wonder who could have taken a kunia to the arm and no be phased?' Then Naruto decided it was not worth pondering about.
He put on some clean clothes and went to go roam around the village. Maybe see if Tsunade had any missons for him to do. He began to think about the recent mission with Hinata, Shino, and Kiba. 'I wonder why Hinata acted so strangely around me. Everytime I looked at her she blushed and looked away. Come to think of it she always does that. And when her face was inches from mine at the hospitle she got really red, headbutted me and passed out. But I guess the headbutt part was an accident. Still, I can't help but wonder why she acts this way.'
Naruto suddenly noticed where he was. He was at Tsunade's office.
"Well here I am, might as well go see what Granny Tsunade has for me. As he walked into the room he noticed that he was not the only one looking for a mission. Standing not but two inches away from his face was, of course, Hinata. She, however, did not notice him because she had her back to him facing Tsunade. Tsunade did notice and decided to annouce his presence for whatever reason.
"Oh, hi Naruto, you looking for a mission? I think Hinata here could use some help. I can't possibly send her on by herself. Why don't you help her?"
Hinata slowly turned around while at the same time turning very red.
"Oh hi N-Naurto, I d-didn't see you t-there."
"Umm, hi Hinata, so what is this mission Tsunade is talking about."
"I asked her for a mission and s-she found o-one, a B r-ranked m-mission."
"Oh, sounds cool, sure Tsunade I'll go. If its ok with you Hinata."
"Yes N-Naruto, I would l-love for you to g-go."
"Cool, but, whats the mission about?"
"I was just getting to explaining that to Hinata as you walked in, please sit down you two and listen carefully."
Tsunade then explained that they would be going on a mission by themselves to the Land of Shadows and the Village there, the Village Hidden In the Shadows (duh). Across the sea from the southern coast of Konoha. They would see how the country was doing. To bring them up to speed she explained that the Land of Shadows is just below the Land of Waves. The newly formed Land made a strong alliance with the Leaf Village and they have been sending many Shinobi to them to assist in getting started. Konoha was informed that the Shadow Village is starting a ninja academy and Tsunade is going to send Naruto and Hinata there as diplomats to see how they were doing.
"Sounds cool, I like the sound of that. So how long is this mission going to take." Naruto said in a don't-really-care tone.
"Well, you see, it may take a few weeks, not including the trip there, but…."
"But w-what?" Hinata asked sounding worried by Tsunades tone.
But it will probably take up to six months."
'Six month alone with Naruto, it's a dream come true' Hinata was so red she actually started to glow. She almost yelled out in joy.
'Six whole months, wow, that's longer than any other mission I've been on. I wonder if I'll be able to ask Hinata why she acts so strangely around me.'
"Well, this may seem suddun, but if you two are going on this mission I must inform you that the boat leaves tomorrow at noon. You would have to leave in the next three hours if you plan to get there in time."
"WHAT, no warning, that's not fair. That means we have to get home pack, eat and leave."
"I'm giving you three hours, so don't tell me I'm not giving you enogh time. You have plenty of time to get done what you need to do and get going."
"Three hours to eat, pack enough for that six month possibility."
"Actually, the six months is just an estimate. It could take a lot more than that."
"Thanks for helping me prove my point."
"Three hours will be plenty of time. Be back here together whenever you get ready and I'll give you the boat tickets."
And with that last comment, Hinata and Naruto set off to their houses to pack, eat and get ready for the extended mission. Naruto got all of this done with little trouble, in fact the only trouble he ran into is finding a bad large enogh to hold all of his instant ramen cups. Hinata, however, found trouble in getting her father to accept the fact she was goind on the mission with a boy…alone.
"I do not think you should go. This mission seems piontless and you'll be with that Uzumaki boy, and personally I never liked him."
"But father, I have to go, I told Tsunade that I would go on this mission for her."
"Well ok, its not like your of much use around here anyway."
That one really hit home for Hinata, her father was always talking to her like this. 'Why does he always say these things. Does he know how much it hurts to be talked to like that.'
"Yes father."Hinata said fighting back tears.
"Well you better get going, your already failing your partner in this mission if you don't get there on time."
"Ok, bye."
"Bye."
On her way to Tsunade's office ,Hinata saw Shino tranning. Kiba was not there because he was in the hospital due to Akamaru catching rabies and bitting him in the nuts.She thought she would tell him that she would be giong on an extended mission with Naruto and may not be back for some time.
"Hello Shino"
"Hello Hinata, where are you going?"
"Ummm, I'm going on an extended mission with Naruto to that new Village Hidden In the Shadows. Were going as abassadors to chack on their Ninja program over there. We might be gone for some time."
"How long are we talking about here?"Shino inquired, wondering where this was going.
"Six months, maybe longer."
Shino was a little shocked. "Six months are more, are you sure you can handle it?"
"What do you mean Shino?"
"Well, I know you never told me or Kiba, or anyone else for that matter. But we can all tell that you have an enormous crush on Naruto. The only person who can't tell IS Naruto. Will you be able to handle being with him alone for that long?"
Hinata was very red now and a little shocked that he would bring it up. Its not like she had not thought about it, its just she didn't know enogh to answer his question.
"Ummm, I don't know. I don't know if I will be confident enough to tell him. I want to know how he feels about me, but I just cant tell."
"Well maybe you should tell him first and based on his reaction see how he feels about you. You never know until you try."
"Maybe your right, but until that time comes, goodbye Shino."
"Goodbye Hinata, keep what I said in mind."
"Ok"
And with that Hinata walked the rest of the way to Tsunade's office without futher detours. When she arrived there she noticed Naruto standing there tapping his foot impatiently.
"Where have you been Hinata? I've been waiting here for half an hour."
"S-Sorry Naruto, I d-didn't m-mean to keep you w-waiting."
"Its ok Hinata, I wasn't really mad. I could never be mad at you"
That comment made Hinata blush more so than usual.
"Hey you two, I have you boat tickets here, remember that the boat takes off at noon tomorrow. Don't be late or I will be pissed."
"Calm down Granny Tsunade. Its not like were going to miss the boat. Were top ninja. We don't make mistakes."
Tsunade rolled her eyes and sent them off. Little did anybody know that thay would not come back the same people, or with the same relationship that they currently had. They were about to embark on a journey tha would cause much pain and joy. And of course a little bit of humor.
(Please excuze all spelling errorz from here on out, thank you)
End Of Chapter One