Here is the latest installment, each chapter has become increasingly longer I don't know if that will become the norm but I hope you all enjoy it while it lasts :).
Thank you to everyone for your reviews, follows and favs!
Without further ado...
Chapter 3
Hinata felt herself blushing furiously over her slip of the tongue. Watching Ronin walk away she attempted to make the blood in her face return to the rest of her body. This cannot be good for me after losing so much blood. I can't believe I said that, how humiliating! Ugh, why am I blushing? I haven't blushed in years. She felt saddened as she thought of the last time she'd blushed like this. Naruto, where have you gone?
Staring at where Ronin had disappeared into the trees she thought of his blue eyes and blonde hair. They were similar to Naruto's, but Ronin's eyes were far too cold. In the past every blue-eyed blonde haired boy had made her heart ache with worry over where her love had gone. If she'd met Ronin years ago she might have believed, even hoped, that he was really Naruto. But she knew better there was no way her Naruto-kun could become the cold, ruthless killer known throughout the elemental nations as Ronin.
Activating her Byakugan again she ensured that he had really left. Wait I'd only just checked the area, how did he get here so fast without me seeing his approach? His speed must be part of the reason he's managed to survive this long and gain the reputation he has.
Deciding to leave the coat on this time until the last possible minute Hinata turned her back towards the direction of the men. Slipping a pair of pants on that she had to roll several times at the waist so they wouldn't slip off of her, she thought Yeah that's just what I need, to give both of them a peep show this time. Luckily the pants stopped at her ankles clearly these were Takeshi's pulled her arms out of the sleeves of the coat hunching slightly so it would hang on her her arms through the sleeves of the shirt she hunched further to carefully and painfully fit her head through the neck hole, standing upright she let the jacket slip off while tugging the shirt down.
She pushed her hair out of her face to discover a nasty bruise from the hit Daichi had delivered. Wincing she questioned how she could be attractive to anyone in her bruised and bedraggled state. I must still be woozy from everything. There's no way that man, or any man, could look at me with desire in his eyes. Sighing dejectedly she thought back to the one she would've loved to have looked at her in such a way and how it seemed as though he'd never truly seen her.
Time to let these thoughts go and focus on the now. Focus on getting back to Suna unharmed, well more than I already am.
Twenty Minutes Earlier
I'm being tortured!
Naruto had mistakenly believed that he'd endured real torture before, but this was so much worse. Thoughts of Hinata's perfect breasts had tormented Naruto as he'd carried her in his arms away from the collapsed caves. Her skin had been so soft and questions of how they would taste if he'd leaned down, as he'd been desperately tempted, to kiss those small pink nipples plagued him. His body was so hard that leaping through the trees had never been so difficult for him. He'd been so distracted a tree branch had nearly taken his head. This of course led to a round of jokes at his expense from Takeshi.
Though Takeshi irritated him to no end he also comforted Naruto on some level for he was not as cold and unfeeling as Naruto had become. Takeshi was able to gain enjoyment, and find humor in life, despite being one to deliver death for a living. Naruto feared that if he continued this lifestyle for much longer that would fade as it had for him. For Naruto that ability had begun to fade long before he'd started taking lives for money.
Now searching the area surrounding their camp thoughts of Hinata continued to be a distraction. She had always been gentleness personified and now he believed she was beauty personified as well.
He scoffed aloud at his thoughts as his mood changed from distracted and reverent to bitter. He'd learned, the hard way, that no one was innocent and people could be brutal. He would not allow himself to continue thinking of the Hyuga this way. She's a stranger to Ronin and I will act accordingly. Just another job, we'll take her back and I'll never see her again.
He had felt the presence approaching for a while and now that it had finally arrived his irritation only increased. Turning to look down at the small toad his glare would cause most men to piss their pants. "Leave! Go tell him to knock this shit off!" he growled viciously. The toad gave a loud croak as its only response before it disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Once a month, Jiraiya would send out a mass network of toads in hopes of spotting Naruto, as soon as a toad had something to report it would poof back to Mount Myoboku. Each time Jiraiya did this he would check in with the toads for any new information they might possess. It was his old sensei's way of keeping tabs on him. At first he would ignore the toads when they found him, he had been far too angry in the first few months to respond. Then he'd begun giving the toads short messages that wouldn't reveal any details, as soon as the toad would poof away Naruto knew it was time to leave a location. The toads didn't always find him sometimes he could go a year or more without being found. As the years passed he'd begun to get angrier each time he was found, sending messages to tell the Toad Sage to leave him alone. Clearly the messages hadn't sunk in.
Takeshi had asked him, years ago, why he didn't just kill the toads so his location wouldn't be revealed while sending a very poignant message to Jiraiya. When he'd explained his reasons based on the toad's innocence to Takeshi, the young man had been confused that he could take a life for pay but wouldn't kill a toad to protect his location. I have to admit it sometimes doesn't make sense to me either.
Thirteen Minutes Earlier
He knew before entering the camp that Hinata wasn't there, this did not help his foul mood. He worried what the reaction would be if the toad had seen Hinata and was able to report to Jiraiya about her presence.
Approaching Takeshi quickly, with malicious intent apparent in his body language he asked, "Where is she?"
Takeshi was still lounging at the base of a tree appearing completely oblivious to Naruto's anger; he'd been waiting for him to return for just this moment. "Calm down. I loaned her some clothes, she changed and now she's at the stream. Is everything okay?"
"A toad," was all the response Naruto gave.
"Damn!" Takeshi stood quickly and began packing up their gear, "I guess we're pulling an all-nighter on this one."
Naruto gave an abrupt nod as he turned to look in the direction of the stream. With his back to Takeshi he didn't see the mischievous grin on his face as he nonchalantly said, "What are you waiting for? She's good to travel; well, as good as she can be in her state. So go get her and let's get the hell out of here."
As Naruto walked away Takeshi couldn't help but shake his head imagining the embarrassment of the Hyuga heiress, and the frustration of his friend that would result from his mistake.
Present
An image of Hinata's lithe body in his coat scorched him and he let out a long breath of relief as he moved away from her. Her breasts weren't the only perfect part to her body. Her tone legs that led up to hips he could imagine gripping as he pulled her tight against him making her scream in ecstasy. It'd been so hard to fight the urge to go to her and make the thoughts in his mind a reality.
Damn that Takeshi! He set me up! Naruto fumed as he trudged back to the camp, trying to press on through the discomfort of his tightening pants. More thoughts of his jacket and the way it had been touching and kissing her pale creamy skin struck him as he groaned in frustration. He knew it would carry her scent when he got it back, a constant reminder that she'd been naked in it. If this keeps up I won't make it through this job.
Entering the small clearing, where Takeshi had already packed up everything, Naruto's irritation boiled over.
Takeshi stood leaning against a tree smiling at Naruto, "Did you get a good show? Or were you too late?" Naruto moved so fast it seemed as though a kunai came out of nowhere to fly at his head. Takeshi tilted his head slightly to the left allowing the kunai to graze his cheek and embed into the tree. He could've avoided it entirely but he knew he deserved some punishment for that nasty trick. He wasn't without his own, albeit twisted, sense of right and wrong. Ignoring the light trickle of blood from the small scratch, he shrugged, "I guess you were too late."
"Not funny, prick!"
Hinata stepped out of the trees with his jacket folded over her arms, turning to stare at her he thought how cute she looked in the too big clothes. She tossed the jacket to him with her uninjured right arm without even meeting his eyes. Catching it with one hand he took a deep breath to hopefully fortify his resolve to treat her like any other job, the way Ronin would typically behave. Unfortunately he was able to catch her scent coming off of the material in his hands it was a light scent of lilacs and something uniquely her. It was a scent that would torment for a long time to come. He was amazed that little shy, blushing Hinata had grown into a beautiful woman who was affecting him this way.
He moved to collect a bento box from Takeshi's pack.
"Hey, what are you doing? I was saving that!" A glare had Takeshi throwing his hands up, "Fine!"
Holding out the box to Hinata he watched her, studying every facet of her face, while trying to outwardly appear as his usual stoic self. Finally raising her eyes to meet his gaze, Naruto saw distrust and possibly hate. This helped him become detached again as it reminded him of who he'd become not who he'd once been.
Hinata merely continued to stare him, and the offered bento box, down. She didn't trust that they hadn't poisoned it, although if killing her was their goal then they'd certainly had plenty of chances to do so before now. Stepping forward she begrudgingly jerked the bento box out of Ronin's hand, saying a quick thank you for the food. Before moving away to eat inside she founds several rice balls stuffed with Kakuni a piece of braised pork; she hadn't realize how hungry she was until she'd taken the first bite. She had to stop herself from moaning in appreciation of the food with its amazing flavors. She wondered who had prepared such a meal for the assassin.
"Hurry, we're leaving soon."
His voice had been low and cold, something she was beginning to note as his usual tone. Swallowing the food in her mouth she inquired, "I thought he were settled for the evening."
"Well, clearly you were mistaken Hyuga-hime."
Hinata bristled at the veiled insult to her station within her clan and determinedly took her time enjoying her first meal in over thirty six hours. She had grown up being berated and ordered about, she'd become quite skilled at being defiant without saying a word over the years.
Finishing her meal she stood holding the bento box out to whichever male would take it. Takeshi reached out with a saddened expression on his face mumbling so low she almost couldn't hear him, "Did she have to eat all of it? She couldn't have left even one bite."
She felt embarrassment at the possibility that perhaps she'd overeaten, but quickly let that pass. I will not feel embarrassed or ashamed in front of two assassins for hire. Ronin had moved away to check his own pack while she was eating and Hinata saw a Ninjato tied to his back. It sat at a diagonal angle with the blade pointing towards his left shoulder and the handle pointing down towards his right hip. Clearly it was tied that way to be easily hidden, and accessed, under his coat. The fact that it was the nineteen inch short-sword tied to his back told her he liked the convenience of concealment, as well as getting in close to his opponents or victims to ensure their death.
She narrowed her eyes to glare at him as he removed the sword from his back, attached it to his pack and put his coat back on. She would've been surprised that he was unarming if she didn't instinctively know that the man had far more weapons hiding in his coat and on his person than anyone could ever discern. She could use her Byakugan to learn the amount and location of each weapon but she honestly didn't want the affirmation of just how dangerous he could be to her. No, he wasn't dangerous. She told herself he was a coward and a bully thus making her blood run cold and her anger snap
Turning to face her again he tossed his pack to Takeshi and began to approach her. Naruto caught the look of hatred in her eyes. Damn, how much worse would she glare at me if she knew the truth of who I am? Not that it mattered this was just one moment out of many in his life he tried telling himself. Yet despite her obviouscontempt of him every part of his body was attuned to her, wanted her. He was so hard and aching, it was all he could do not to limp. You're such a fool. He was Ronin. Cold and lethal he did not need comfort whether sexual or emotional from anyone. Yet still a part of himself he tried to suppress wondered what it would be like to be comforted by her just once. Kami, even my thoughts are starting to sound ridiculous.
Naruto froze for a second as he felt an additional presence watching them, before he could react it vanished. Another toad? No that did not feel like a toad, we need to move.
Shifting one foot back and to the side Hinata was prepared to fight if necessary as Ronin approached. But it wasn't as he stopped two feet away turning to present his back while bending one knee, "Climb on."
Shocked and slightly outraged her eyes widened at what he was suggesting, "No!"
Takeshi spoke up, "Hyuga-san we are leaving now to return you to Suna. Ronin will carry you so we can be sure you don't attempt to run off and cheat us out of our well-deserved pay for your recovery."
"I'm sure you'll return me safely as you've stated, even if only for your money. I have no intentions of running off as you put it. I will travel alongside you." Hinata hoped they would take her word and leave it at that. She'd planned to slip away while they slept since doing so from the stream was pointless when she knew Ronin was traversing around the camp; capture would've been more likely then.
"I'm afraid we can't trust your word, common trait of assassins I'm afraid. Now climb onto my partner's back so we can get moving please. By the way that is the last time I will ask." He'd started out smiling politely but his stare had hardened as he'd finished speaking.
Grinding her teeth and glaring at them both, she took a deep breath before obliging with their wishes. I can't believe I'm doing this! How much more.. No I won't even ask because things will only get worse.
She felt herself starting to blush a bit as she climbed onto Ronin's back wrapping her legs and arms around him. She jerked a little when he wrapped one arm around each thigh just above her knees.
"Relax," he said as he straightened and immediately leapt into the tree branches to begin the trek back to Suna.
Hinata tried to hold her upper-body as far away from him as possible, without nearly slipping off or causing him to lose his balance. This didn't last long before she chose to relax, resting her upper body against his back. The moment she did Ronin tensed at the change but gave no other reaction, the fact that he chose to ignore her for the most part helped in accepting the situation. Trying to distract herself from the warm body she was wrapped around Hinata searched for any recognizable land marks to determine how close they were to Sunagakure. She couldn't keep it up for very long she was tired and the warmth radiating off of Ronin combined his steady movements through the trees were lulling her.
Naruto became even more inflamed if that was possible when she pressed her chest into his back. Her legs were wrapped around his hips, though not the exact way he wanted them to be. The scent of her body continued to assault his nose making him want to swing her around so he could bury his face in her hair as he gripped one of her breasts. Why didn't I let Takeshi carry her? But he knew the answer to that, because he was stronger and could endure the extra weight for the time it took to reach their destination. He'd underestimated her affect on him and he truly wondered if he could make it to Suna without being overcome by his urges.
Shaking himself from those thoughts he focused on leaping from branch to branch. He was so distracted when he needed to focus on their surroundings in case of an ambush. He began to think about that odd presence he'd felt back in the clearing, he worried over what it could mean.
Naruto was surprised when he felt Hinata's head slump against his back as her arms relaxed even further around his shoulders. He could hear her even slow breaths. He knew the day had taken a severe toll on her body, how else could she possibly allow herself to relax enough to sleep in the presence of a renowned assassin.
In a small room located on the outskirts of Sunagakure a half man, half plant like creature seemed to sprout from the wall as the man waiting within the room tensed in fear. One half of the creature's body was black while the other half was white, and there was Venus fly-trap like opening surrounding his head.
"You're information was indeed accurate Jun. I found Ronin right where you said he would be, for that the Akatsuki thanks you."
A purse of ryos was tossed at Jun's feet. Of all the members of Akatsuki he had to deal with, this one's appearance made him uncomfortable. He found it odd that at times when the Akatsuki member spoke his mouth didn't appear to move.
"Your gratitude is thanks enough Zetsu-san. I must ask, the Hyuga heiress.." he trailed off daring to inquire about her from Zetsu, after all he had to give a report to one more man after this.
The man-plant creature cocked his head to the side slightly, "Although she is quite beautiful we have no interest in her, though why you ask intrigues me. Nevertheless this concludes our business with you."
Jun feared a death blow at any moment but then that was to be expected when you were a snitch for hire. Crouching while watching the Akatsuki member he picked up the purse and backed out of the room.
The white half of Zetsu spoke, "Are you sure we should've let him go?"
"Yes, we may have use of him later," the black half responded. "We need to inform Tobi he'll be happy to know we've located our newest recruit."
The white half asked, "What of his partner?"
"That is up to Tobi, though I'm sure he will be discarded."
Hinata found herself in one of the many training grounds within Konohagakure, she turned in a complete circle wondering what she was doing there. She couldn't remember if she needed to meet with the other members of Team Eight. She paused wondering why she'd be meeting them here as she hadn't been part of that team or a kunoichi for the village in nearly eight years.
Hearing someone approach she looked up to see a thirteen year old Naruto walking up, his trademark grin upon his face as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Hey Hinata, it's been a long time huh?"
Tears welled in her eyes threatening to pour down her face "Na-Naruto-kun," she said on breathless whisper. She felt herself reverting back to the shy girl she'd once been in his presence, including the blush spreading across her face.
"You look good Hinata, if a little banged up," Naruto chuckled. He really hadn't been the best at social niceties, a fact she'd found refreshing as it led him to always be honest. Too often because of her clan and within her clan she saw people putting on facades, she'd witnessed the hurt such masks could cause.
She couldn't stop staring at him, drinking in his image and wondering what had happened to him.
Naruto's face turned solemn as Hinata sensed a dark presence approaching from their right. Looking over she saw Ronin in his deep red clothes, black as night jacket and mask. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she feared for Naruto as she prepared to step in front of him. Naruto stared at Ronin with an indescribable look upon his face. He turned back to her looking deep into her eyes, "I have to go now Hinata." His voice had been so low and quiet almost as if the life had been drained out of him. Ronin stopped his approach several feet away to stare coldly at the two of them.
"What!? No, Naruto-kun don't leave!"
But it was too late for he'd already turned to walk away in the direction of Ronin. Hinata was so confused she couldn't grasp what was happening, she become frantic as Naruto seemed to completely fade from sight just as he passed by the dark assassin.
The tears she'd been trying to contain spilled from her eyes, as she tried to stop Naruto from fading away. "Naruto-kun!"
Ronin was walking towards her with a sad look on his face, but Hinata was prepared to kill him for making Naruto disappear. She couldn't accomplish her goal as the world began to fade around her.
Hinata jerked awake, scared and upset by the dream she'd had. Apparently the steady motion that had lulled her to sleep had suddenly stopped as Ronin was no longer jumping from branch to branch. She tried to get her bearings, "Where am I?" she asked drowsily.
"The border between Kaze no Kuni and Kawa no Kuni, Hyuga-hime."
She jumped off of his back as fast as possible, curling her lip in distaste at his continued insult of her station. Saying her name with hime like that instead of san or sama was as good as him outright disrespecting her station while insinuating she was nothing more than a spoiled princess.
"Your veiled insult is not appreciated right now. In the last 48 hours alone I've been drugged, kidnapped, strangled, stabbed, abducted and now insulted by you. What's next on the agenda a good maiming, some torture?"
Naruto chose to back off, she was right, she'd been through quite an ordeal and up to this point she'd handled everything well without hysterics. Bowing his head slightly he did something he hadn't done in many years, he apologized. "Forgive me Hyuga-san, I was never trained in manners."
No you were trained to kill. Oh Kami Hinata, what were you thinking prodding this man? She mentally cringed at the thought that he could've lashed out at her for standing up to him the way she had.
Their confrontation was broken up when Takeshi jumped out of the trees, addressing Ronin. "They'll be here shortly." He glanced suspiciously between his partner and the Hyuga heiress, he got the feeling something had happened between them while he'd located her approaching clan members.
Naruto only nodded in response and moved away from Hinata to stand slightly behind her, he needed distance between the two of them. She'd begun to thrash a little making sounds of distress before she'd jerked awake and as he'd turned to face her, pain along with hatred had been clear in her expression. He couldn't help but wonder what she'd dreamt about that could cause such emotions. But as he'd attempted to push her away by insulting her she'd called him on it, putting him in his place with a fire in her eyes that he longed to see there for other reasons.
This day just keeps getting better. Damn my luck! Naruto thought as he glanced up.
Stepping out of the trees across from them was Hiashi Hyuga, with Neji Hyuga to his right and two other Hyuga clan members following behind. Naruto noticed that between those unknown clan members was another man not of the clan, this one stood out greatly from the Hyugas. Each member of Hinata's clan, except of course for Hiashi, was dressed as a shinobi of Konohagakure. The man trailing behind them was out of place not only in their party but in the forest surrounding the border with his formal dark green kimono. Naruto's keen eyes could detect that the fabric of the kimono was high quality. He was slightly curious about the out of place man, in his line of work things like that always fell under suspicion.
Naruto watched as Hinata appeared relieved to see her father, cousin and clan members though the emotions were subdued he could tell. Though as she'd begun to move forward, everything changed as her eyes landed on the formally dressed man traveling in the back of the group. He was literally watching Hinata close in on herself and he could feel a coldness coming from her as she clasped her hands in front of her while awaiting their approach with a down cast gaze. Where was the fire he'd just seen her displaying, it was as if she was a completely different woman before him. He wasn't sure if this was her typical behavior around her father, but he was beginning to suspect it was the fifth man causing the light to fade from Hinata.
The group stopped when Hiashi was within arm's reach of Hinata, though he did not reach out to touch her in any way. "Are you well nusume?" he questioned his daughter reservedly.
"Yes, otosan."
Naruto didn't understand why she wouldn't mention to her father the hole in her shoulder; he gave a nearly imperceptible signal to Takeshi.
"Hyuga-san, your daughter suffered an injury to her shoulder caused by her abductor's earth spear. We've cleaned and bandaged it, but it will require treatment." Takeshi's tone had been matter-of-fact displaying no emotion, simply relaying necessary details.
His lips pursing slightly, "I see," finally turning to the two assassins he barely glanced at Takeshi before taking his time studying Ronin.
Before another word could be spoken the kimono garbed fifth man stepped forward approaching Hinata. "Hinata-chan, I'm glad you are well. We were all quite concerned when you disappeared."
Naruto hadn't thought it possible for a man to give a more reserved, and cold, impression than Hiashi Hyuga but this guy proved him wrong.
Keeping her gaze downcast a tight smile appeared on her face, one that didn't reach her eyes as she inclined her head slightly towards the man.
"Thank you for your concern Nezu-san. We owe our thanks to Ronin-san and Takeshi-san for my safe recovery." She'd barely managed to conceal the contempt in her voice as she called the job what it had been, a recovery mission rather than a rescue.
Nezu's eyes widened upon hearing the name Ronin and he quickly looked to Naruto, his eyes seeming to narrow in a calculating manner.
Naruto had seen that look many times, it was a sign that the person had just realized he was in the presence of a lethal killer, one who had a very large bounty upon his head. I've got your number pal, Naruto thought.
Hiashi spoke up, turning slightly towards Neji, "You and Nezu should begin escorting Hinata back to Suna so she can be attended by the medical ninja there."
Nodding Neji responded, "Yes ojisan." He turned signaling the other clan members and Nezu to begin escorting Hinata away.
Nezu who had been standing near Hinata reached out to place his hand upon her lower back in an attempt to guide her away. Naruto felt a growl building in his chest and he fought to suppress it. It wouldn't do to growl like an animal in front of the head of the Hyuga clan while waiting for payment. However, the growl died quickly when he witnessed Hinata stiffen at the touch, glance up at Nezu with another unenthusiastic smile and move to walk close to her cousin. What is going on here? Who is this guy that Hinata clearly can't stand touching her? Naruto hadn't missed the fact that Nezu had never once looked at Takeshi, clearly deeming him unworthy of the man's attention. He probably wouldn't have looked at Naruto either if he hadn't learned the masked man standing before him was going by the name Ronin.
As Neji led the rest of the group away Hinata glanced back one time, but Naruto could not put into words what the expression was upon her face. He felt a twinge of pain in his chest as she was led away. He didn't believe he was capable of being upset over her departure and nearly glanced down in search of a wound that could cause the discomfort. Not wanting to examine his emotions since he never let himself feel any, Naruto forced his attention back to Hiashi Hyuga who was still standing before them.
Takeshi was the voice of their partnership when working a job and he stepped forward to address the Hyuga clan leader.
"We've met the conditions of the job contract Hyuga-san, your daughter has been recovered in as healthy a condition as possible, with her eyes still intact."
Hiashi nodded acknowledging Takeshi's statement, before looking at Naruto. "You're reputation obviously proceeds you as a skilled assassin Ronin. I wonder if those skills could be applied to other endeavors."
Ronin quirked an eyebrow inquiringly as a sign for Hiashi to continue.
"The danger to my daughter has increased and will continue to do so as the time of her wedding draws near," Hiashi paused.
Naruto felt that twinge of pain increase upon hearing that Hinata would be married soon and he now knew exactly who Nezu was. Anger began to boil inside him. Gritting his teeth he crossed his arms to keep himself from going after that man and killing him. That man will have the right and privilege of touching her body, caressing it as I'd imagined doing that alone is enough to warrant his death. Naruto had to admit he was shocked at these thoughts of possession he felt for a former acquaintance he'd known eight years ago.
"I've of course placed some of the best shinobi within the Hyuga clan as her guards and yet this abduction was still able to occur. I would pay the both of you a substantial day rate to guard Hinata until her wedding in seven days. The Hyuga council believes that once she is wed the danger to her will decrease, if not cease altogether. When I say you would guard her from a distance I mean it, I do not want it to be perceived that I lack faith in the abilities of my clan to protect my daughter. But I will take any steps necessary to ensure her security, even if it means hiring you."
Both Naruto and Takeshi had let Hiashi speak uninterrupted but with one glance Takeshi knew what their response to the offer should be. Takeshi took the lead once more, "Forgive us, Hyuga-san your offer is very generous and your request is understandable but I'm afraid we must decline the job."
Hiashi's eyes remained on Naruto though his body was turned towards Takeshi, Naruto didn't miss the constant study of his person. The Hyuga clan leader nodded slowly, then retrieved the agreed upon payment, handing it to Takeshi he turned to leave pausing to say, "If you change your mind let me know, Ronin."
Takeshi moved to stand beside Naruto as they watched the Hyuga leave. When they were sure he'd truly left, they leapt into the trees beginning the long trek they would take to dissuade pursuers from following.
"Are you sure about turning down the job?"
"It is the decision I will stand by."
