Author's note: Sorry for not updating last week. My car died and then I lost my job the day after. So now I am looking for a new job and that of course is a fun adventure. Here is my next chapter and the start of the adventure in Iwa. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, I cannot believe the response this story has been getting! Please read, review, and enjoy. If you hate it, don't flame me, just remember, no one is making you read it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Naruto! If I did, I wouldn't be leaving great big huge holes in the plot the way Kishimoto has!
Naruto and Hinata were now about six hours away from Iwagakure, dressed in nondescript civilian clothes and carrying their supplies. They just walked at a normal pace, holding hands, and appearing to be completely calm, which was a lie. They were nervous as anything.
"Hitomi-chan, we should be reaching Iwagakure by the end of the day. Do you want to rest there for a day or so before we continue our journey to your grandmothers?" Naruto asked as he helped he stand up after they had taken a break for lunch.
"That sounds like a good idea, Kaito-kun. Maybe we can celebrate your birthday while we are there. It's a week from today. I've never seen a Hidden Village before, have you?"
"No, I've never traveled near one before. It probably isn't that different from a normal town, only with a lot of security and ninja running around." The two had been playing their roles for over a week now, wary of patrols of ninja and teams returning home. Just because they hadn't seen anyone yet, didn't mean that they hadn't been seen. Still keeping up his facade, Naruto gave Hinata a quick kiss before they got under way again.
When they knew that they were within an hour's walk of the village, Hinata purposely tripped on a stone in the road and fell down, seeming to twist her ankle. When she reached for it, in a supposed reflex to the pain, she quickly sent a burst of chakra into the joint, causing some of the bones to break. Hinata grimaced at the sudden, real pain, but she knew her injury had to be authentic for them to be able to stay long enough to get some usable information. She also knew that she had to be the one to do it, because Naruto healed too quickly.
"Hitomi! Are you okay? Can you still walk? Do you need help?" Naruto's panic and questioning weren't fully faked. He winced as he saw the obvious pain on Hinata's face.
"I hurt my ankle, Kaito," she whispered, "I don't know if I can walk. You may need to help me." Hinata quickly pulled up her pant leg so they could both easily see the joint. Her left ankle was already bruised and starting to swell.
"Good thing we're not that far away from Iwa. They should be able to treat you there, and then we keep going." Naruto helped Hinata get to her foot and then proceeded to help her limp along. After doing that for about fifteen minutes, they were both startled to hear a voice from behind them.
"Are you hurt, young lady?" Naruto turned his head to see three shinobi wearing the hitai-ite of Iwa standing behind them.
"I think my wife might have broken her ankle when she tripped and stumbled," Naruto cautiously said. "I am Yamaguchi Kaito and my wife is Hitomi."
"I am Hiroto, Jonin of Iwa. These are my companions, Mako and Toshiro. We would be willing to accompany you to our village so you wife can receive treatment she needs before you continue your journey," he offered.
"We would be grateful," Hinata replied, her voice shaking with pain and effort. The three Iwa shinobi stayed at their side until they reached the village's main entrance. After helping them get registered with the guards and giving them directions to the hospital, the three took off, presumably to report to the Tsuchikage.
They were much nicer than I expected from Iwa ninja. Of course, they thought we were just some local civilians, not two Konoha ninja. I guess it goes to prove that there are nice people everywhere, Naruto thought as he went in the direction the ninja had pointed. Unfortunately for Hinata, they ended up getting lost on their way to the hospital.
The two ended up on what appeared to be a residential street with some small businesses. Naruto spied a small bench and led Hinata over to it, hoping to let her rest a bit before trying to find the hospital again.
"Hey, do you two need some help?" a brown-haired boy asked, walking up to them. Naruto looked at the kid. The boy seemed to be about ten or eleven, and though Naruto was sure he had never seen the kid before in his life, he looked familiar.
"Yes, we're travelers, and my wife has broken her ankle. We got lost trying to find the hospital," Naruto warily said, still examining the kid and trying to figure out why he looked familiar.
"My mom works there, She should be home any minute now. Just wait here and I'm sure Mom will help. She's considered to be one of the best medics working at the hospital."
"Thank you for your offer," Hinata said, "but we don't want to impose on her."
"She won't mind, she likes helping people, and she won't get in trouble for it because you're not ninja!"
Naruto and Hinata shared a confused glance with the other. Why is it important that we're not ninja? The kid ignored the look and asked, "Do you have a place to stay?"
"No, we were hoping to find a hotel after my ankle was treated," Hinata explained. "Oh, we forget to introduce ourselves. I'm Hitomi and this is my husband Kaito. What is your name?"
"Obito, what are you doing?" a woman's voice sounded from down the street. Naruto stared at the kid in shock. Where have I heard the name Obito before? Who is this kid and why do I feel that he is somehow connected to Konoha?
Hinata got a look at the woman, dressed in medic's scrubs, and her mouth fell open in shock. I've seen her before! The woman had long brown hair, brown eyes, and purple square clan markings on her cheeks. She wore no hitai-ite, but judging by the way she moved, she was definitely a trained kunoichi. Then Hinata's sharp eyes caught a glimpse of a tattoo on the woman's upper arm, a Konoha ANBU mark. She was a Konoha ANBU? What the heck is she doing here?
"Mom, these people are visitors who got lost on the way to the hospital, because she has a broken ankle. I told them you could help since you are an awesome medic. They don't have anywhere to stay yet, and I don't think they have eaten dinner yet, either."
"We don't want to impose on you and your family, ma'am. If you could just point us in the direction of the hospital, we would be grateful," Hinata quickly said.
"I'm Yamaguchi Kaito, and this is my wife Hitomi," Naruto introduced them to the woman.
The woman stared at both of them, shook her head quickly, and replied, "I am Norita Rin, and this impudent one is my son, Obito. Come inside, I can at least set and wrap your ankle before taking you to the hospital, Hitomi. It should help with the pain."
Just then, an Iwa ANBU showed up. "May we see your identification?" he asked Naruto.
Naruto handed him the documents Itachi had made for them, and they were quickly examined. Upon giving them back, the ANBU said, "This woman and her son are considered to be prisoners of war. You don't have to accept her offer."
"I think we'll be fine," Naruto replied, "But thank you for giving us the information. We'll be sure to be on our guard. I just don't want to prolong my wife's suffering anymore then it has already been, thanks to my lousy sense of direction."
The ANBU nodded in understanding and disappeared. Rin quickly unlocked her home and Naruto carried Hinata inside, with Obito closing the door behind them.
Rin turned to her son, "Obito, run by Setsuna's shop and pick up some dinner for us and our guests."
"What flavors should I get, Mom?"
"Miso, beef, and pork. Here you go," she handed him some ryo and the boy took off. Rin turned to her guests, "I hope you don't mind ramen. Setsuna makes some of the best ramen in tall of the Land of Earth."
Naruto had to stop himself from drooling at the mention of ramen. It had been quite awhile since he had had some. The best ramen in the Land of Earth? I'll definitely have to try some.
He quickly sat Hinata down on a chair, and Rin quickly examined the swollen ankle. "It's definitely broken, but I've never seen a break quite like this. If I didn't know better, I'd swear..." Rin trailed off, again examining Naruto and Hinata's faces.
Her name is Norita Rin. This woman is my godmother and she's one of Kakashi-sensei's teammates! She must have named her son after her other teammate, Uchiha Obito. Everyone in Konoha thinks she's dead! Naruto quickly put the connections together and couldn't completely keep the shock off of his face. "If you didn't know better, you'd think what, Rin-san?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even.
"That this injury was caused by an overpowered and very precise Juuken strike," she whispered, hands glowing with healing chakra as she set the bones in Hinata's ankle.
"You're a former ANBU from Konoha," Hinata said, "and you have treated injuries caused by the Hyuuga's Juuken." Rin stared at her in shock and mutely nodded.
"Everyone there thinks you're dead," Naruto blurted out. "Wait, are there any spying seals in here?"
"No, they only spy on me when I'm at the hospital. Who are you two? Why are you here? And how do you seem to know me?" Rin demanded as she wrapped Hinata's ankle.
"We're also from Konohagakure. Remove your contacts, Hime, I'll do the same," Naruto said, praying he was making the right move. "I know that you were acquainted with my Jonin sensei, Hatake Kakashi."
Rin's face turned white and for a second, Naruto and Hinata were scared that she was going to faint. "Kakashi is your sensei?"
Naruto nodded as he removed the lenses from his eyes and stored them quickly. He faced the medic, "I also know that you are the woman who was named as my godmother. I'm Konoha Genin Uzumaki Naruto."
Hinata added, once she had removed her contacts, "And I am Konoha Genin Hyuuga Hinata. You saved my life and the life of my mother when I was born."
"Naruto? Hinata?" Rin gasped out as tears filled her eyes. "What on Earth are you doing here in Iwagakure, of all places."
"This is actually a test to see how good we are at spying and infiltration. The reason we came here is that we are trying to find out what had happened to Iwa's two Jinchuriki, because an organization called the Akatsuki is after them. They are also after me because I'm also a Jinchuriki," Naruto informed her.
"And we wanted to get away from Ero-sennin, and this is one place where he wouldn't follow us," Hinata added with a smirk.
"You two had better get your contacts back in before Obito comes back," Rin said, and then gave the two a strange look. "Who's Ero-sennin?"
"Jiraiya."
Rin burst out laughing, "Perfect nickname! If Minato-sensei had heard it, he would have started using it all of the time. You definitely are your father's son, Naruto."
"You knew my dad? I heard you were friends with my mom?" Naruto asked, sounding a little confused.
"Naruto, your dad took the place of mine after he was killed. I knew your father a lot longer than I knew Kushina." She paused for a moment, and then asked, "Do you even have a clue that Jiraiya is your godfather?"
"What! He never mentioned that!"
"And you still don't know who your father is." Rin sighed, and continued speaking, "Had I not been captured, I would have adopted you and you would have grown up knowing who your parents were. Grrr, Jiraiya, why the heck didn't you fulfill your responsibilities?"
"I know who my mom is, who is my dad?" Naruto interrupted Rin's growling at Jiraiya while he took Hinata's hand in his. "Can you tell me?"
"I can and will. I swear I'm going to kill that idiot if I meet up with him again." Rin gave Naruto a sad smile and said, "Consider this an early fifteenth birthday present, and one to make up for all of the previous birthdays your godmother has missed. Your father was my Jonin sensei and considered to be the best shinobi to ever come from Konoha." Hinata gasped as Naruto felt like he was about to faint. "Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, is your father, Namikaze Naruto."
Crash! Naruto fainted and fell backward just as Obito entered, carrying six containers of take-out ramen. "Mom, what happened to Kaito? I brought the ramen."
Hinata glanced at Naruto, who didn't even twitch at the mention of his favorite food. He must really be in shock then, if ramen isn't waking him up. I can't blame him. The Yondaime is Naruto-kun's father? Why wasn't he told?
A/N, take two: I enjoyed writing that last part. Naruto goes into so deep of shock that even ramen won't wake him up? Rin and Obito do have important parts to play in the plot, so now you know why I needed to get Naruto and Hinata to Iwa. But what effects will they have? Will they be able to get them out? Will Jiraiya survive annoying yet another medic? Keep reading and you'll find out!