Author's Note: welcome back! happy to have you here for another chapter:) I hope you enjoy!
Despite saying they'd only be gone for three days, they had Hinata rent her room for the week. She spent the first day resting... it'd been a while since she'd been forced to travel regularly at such a high-speed pace. Day two, she ventured out. She made her way to a bakery in the morning, before heading out to the Spa and Hot Spring. She was going to spend the day pampering herself. And that was exactly what happened.
She got a seaweed wrap, a deep tissue massage, and several other treatments before finally finishing off her day in the hot spring. The sun was starting to set, and they'd lit candles around the area. It was... peaceful. She sunk into the warm water. She was the only one here, and it was nice to be able to just relax without any worries...
And that's when she heard it... "No, no, it's a raven haired beauty this time, with big-"
"Let me see, pervy sage, you're hoggin the hole..." Hinata recognized that voice... and... in a state of shock... stood all the way up, turning towards it. She was just looking at a wall though... was she... imagining things? She activated her eyes... and... oh gosh... On the other side of that wall was two forms practically pressed against it - fighting over a tiny peep hole...
She... looked down at herself. Completely exposed... out of the water... cool air nipping at her soft skin... and then that smaller form pressed his eye to the hole... "HINATA?!" that voice shouted. Oh... she... she hadn't heard that voice in some time... and he... he was just...
Her screams echoed through the whole village as she plunged down into the water. Naruto... he'd just... he'd just seen her... completely... nude... Her face burned red as she sprinted out of the spring and grabbed her towel off the rock. She held it tight to her body as she returned promptly to the locker rooms.
The peeping pair were kicked out of the spring, but Naruto insisted they wait for Hinata outside. He wanted to apologize. It was about ten minutes till Hinata finally ventured out. She was both excited and extremely embarrassed to see him standing there with that goofy was in a black t-shirt, with his jacket tied around his waist.
"Hinata! What are you doing here? Are you on a mission or something?" He didn't give her a chance to answer - she was kind of thankful. "I'm super sorry about earlier! See, Pervy Sage over there was peeping and I was trying to get him to stop and I-." He could tell from the look on her face she wasn't buying it.
He gave a nervous chuckle and scratched the back of his head. "I'm really sorry, I might have picked up a few bad habits in my travels..." It'd been over two years since she'd last seen him... he'd gotten... so tall... he was still just as... handsome as ever.
"It...it's alright." She spoke meekly. "Ho...how have you been, N...Naruto..." She spoke softly, and Jiraiya just smiled. He saw that young love blossoming, and it made him happy for the young boy.
"I've been great! Training! Getting stronger!" He flexed one arm, gripping his bicep with his hand. "What about you?" She flushed... was he really curious about what she'd been up to?
"Oh... also training... trying to... get stronger for myself." She smiled. None of that was a lie. This had been an adventure, and she had a feeling it was just beginning... however... Naruto... Naruto wasn't safe here... Itachi and Kisame would be returning... and... he needed to get as far away from here as possible... she wasn't ready for this...
"Let's catch up over some dinner, hmmm?" Jiraiya suggested. Naruto seemed to glow at the idea of food. "Oh hell yeah! Let's go! Come on Hinata! I'll treat ya!" He reached out and took her hand before taking off towards the town's ramen shop. He hadn't seen a friend in a long time... he'd missed everyone back at the village.
Jiraiya chuckled softly as he followed after the pair. She... was trying to figure out the best way to go about this without... having them try to take her home... Naruto filled her in on all sorts of adventures he'd had while training, and how hard he worked. He seemed so proud. He was always pushing himself to be the best version of himself... Hinata... wanted to do the same thing... that's why she was on this journey...
"Ahhhh, I'm so stuffed!" Naruto shouted as he rubbed his swollen belly. Hinata smiled. She liked seeing him satisfied... and this... this almost felt like a date... she'd always wanted to go on a date with Naruto... "It was great running into you Hinata! Though... you never told me why you were here?" This was a long way from the Leaf...
She flushed softly. "I... um... that's a secret..." She said a bit sheepishly. Jiraiya cocked an eyebrow at that... hmm... "Hey Naruto, go on and settle up the tab, and get some dessert to-go." Jiraiya tossed him his coin purse... Naruto's eyes lit up. If he'd known the pervy sage was paying, he'd have ordered more - he planned on getting more than just dessert to-go.
He headed off towards the counter, and the Sannin looked at Hinata with a very serious look. "You need to get him out of here..." She spoke softly. "My team's been on a mission tracking the Akatsuki and they're due back here sometime tomorrow evening. Please leave first thing in the morning... he's not ready..." She sounded... extremely worried, and she had no problem finding the exact words she needed this time.
Jiraiya took in all the details of her face. She didn't appear to be lying... but... lies laced with truth are always the hardest to detect. "Are you sure?" He asked, because if she was certain then... he felt like they probably shouldn't wait till morning to leave. The more distance he got between him and Akatsuki was... ideal.
The Hyuga girl gave a firm nod. She was absolutely positive. "Well! Aren't you just a lovely young lady. It's such a shame that Naruto and I have to get back to training asap." Jiraiya's whole vibe changed as Naruto approached the table once more - having placed his extra orders and paid their tab. "FINALLY! Are you going to teach me something new, sensei?! Oooh I bet it's gunna be a fancy new jutsu! Did you hear that Hinata?!" Those blue eyes sparkled excitedly. He was still so naive...
She felt good, knowing they were leaving as soon as possible. "Yeah, N..Naruto! That'll... that'll be fantastic!" She was happy for him. She wanted him to... keep living and thriving... she wanted him to find his happiness... and she knew that Akatsuki were... going to ruin that chance...
"I'll give you two a few minutes, and then we'll get going." Jiraiya moved to stand up from the table. "Come on out when you get the food." Naruto looked... shocked at that. "Wait! Right now?! It's the middle of the night! Can't we wait till tomorrow, sensei?" He complained. He thought he was at least going to have a bit more time to spend with his friend, but... at least some time spent was better than none.
Jiraiya just shook his head. "No. If you've got time for sleep, you've got time for training! Let's get pumped!" He encouraged his student enthusiastically. Naruto seemed to feed off that level of hype... Hinata thought it was quite cute. "ALRIGHT!" He shouted. That sounded like the kind of work ethic he could get behind.
Jiraiya reached out and patted the boy's head as he got up and walked out of the restaurant, leaving the two there to converse. "Well, it sucks we couldn't get to see each other longer! But I'll be back at the village soon and we can definitely hang out and I'll show you all my cool new jutsu!" He sounded so enthusiastic and proud. Hinata flushed as she smiled gently. "I'd... I'd like that..." She said softly, though she knew it wasn't going to happen... even if... she went back to the village... she'd likely be executed or imprisoned...
"Then it's a date!" Naruto shouted excitedly. Hinata's face burned red at that word... Oh. That... "N..Naruto..." She spoke softly - but she didn't get to finish her sentence as the waitress brought over Naruto's to-go food. "Here you go, and thanks for your business!" She spoke in a chipper tone.
Naruto looked at the food with excitement. Even though he'd just eaten... there was far more than just dessert in this bags. "Oh boy, oh boy." He repeated excitedly as he peered through the bags. Hinata watched him... he always had such a childlike sense of wonder... she wondered how he managed to maintain that innocence with such a hard life... she was raised to be quiet and pristine... to have strength but to also know her place...
"I... I've got to get going... Naruto..." Hinata said softly as she stood up. "I... I'm excited to see how strong you become." He'd need it... Itachi and Kisame... they were... formidable to say the least. Naruto grinned ear to ear. "You bet, Hinata! Just you wait. I'll be the strongest Ninja you've ever seen, and then I'll become Hokage!" He always sounded so sure of himself...
The pair walked out of the restaurant together, exchanged goodbyes... and the young blond gave her such a big hug, it left her head spinning for minutes after. She wasn't sure she'd ever actually been that close to him before... She was happy Jiraiya listened and didn't try to pry or argue... he knew how important it was to get Naruto out of Akatsuki hands... Hinata just... she wasn't ready... she knew if Itachi and Kisame tried to make her do what needed to be done right now... she wouldn't be able to...
She headed back to her room. Today had been a good day. She'd gotten a bit of final closure from Kohana by seeing Naruto... and she felt good to move forward with whatever Itachi and Kisame had planned for her. By the time Jiraiya or Naruto told anyone in the Leaf she'd been here... she'd be long gone...
She stripped down and climbed into bed. She still felt so relaxed from the spa earlier, and she was thankful to have this experience without... her family breathing down her neck to sit properly... it was... actually relaxing... She hadn't slept that well in a long time, in fact... she slept through lunch. When she woke up... it was almost two p.m. Her blankets were sprawled around her, legs and limbs spread from corner to corner of the bed. She was... in heaven.
She'd never felt so free. It took her a while after waking up to finally drag herself out of the warm comfort of her bed, but the growl in her stomach and the urge to pee were great motivators. After using the facilities, she ordered herself some room service. She... didn't feel like doing anything today. She couldn't think of a day when she wasn't sick that she just... didn't... do anything.
She flicked on the TV while she waited for her food to arrive. She almost dozed off again when there was a knock on the door. She quickly grabbed a robe - pulling it on over her undergarments - and answered the door. She didn't give them a chance to come in and set it up, merely tugged the cart inside and thanked them before closing the door.
She munched happily and ended up falling asleep again. She woke to the sound of the window opening. The young woman was on immediate high-alter, which as she flung the blanket off herself, sent her tray of mostly eaten food flying with a clattering bang. But it was just Kisame carrying Itachi... the man was out cold over his shoulder. "Is... is he alright?" She said, she... wasn't even thinking about her state of dress at the moment. "Yeah, help me get him in the bed, he's wore out." Kisame spent a lot of time taking care of Itachi, the man needed more naps than a toddler.
Hinata moved to clear the bed off so Kisame could put him in it. "Tend to him, I'll be back." And just like that... the shark-like man left out the window. Itachi's breathing was even but shallow... she checked all his vitals, he appeared to be fine... just as Kisame had said... extremely wore out.
This was when she took the time to... well... gently lift his eyelids. For once... she wasn't met with crimson. His eyes were moving in a state of rem sleep, a dark but slightly cloudy onyx color... This was probably why they had her rent the room for several extra days... there was no way he'd be able to do any traveling tomorrow...
She got him out of his cloak, and t-shirt, before moving to cover him with the blanket. As she moved to brush a strand of hair from his face, a hand reached up and caught her wrist. His eyes were a sharp crimson once more as he stared at her. "S...sorry..." She whispered softly. He released her wrist after a moment and let his hand drop to the bed. He closed his eyes again.
"You have no clothes on, again." He murmured softly, before moving to turn on his side to try to get some proper sleep. Hinata looked down at herself... Oh. Right... she herself had just been woken up... and she was standing there in a bra and panties... Kisame hadn't even said anything...
Her face burned a deep dark shade of red, and quickly threw on a shirt and some shorts. She was just... making a fool of herself left and right... there was no way these men took her seriously... she moved to sit in a comfy chair in the corner of the room, snuggling down into it to catch a bit more sleep when...
The soft sound of 'patpat' came from the bed. He wasn't looking at her, and his hand returned to its normal position as soon as he'd done it... she hesitated... it's not like... they hadn't shared the bed before... and she didn't have to share blankets with him... she got up and moved over to the bed, climbing on top of the blankets as she curled up next to him - turning her back to him. This wasn't... terrible, and she was back asleep in no time.
She didn't wake till the morning, and she was a bit surprised to see Kisame sleeping on a bedroll on the floor... though she did suppose he was a bit large to sleep in a chair...
Itachi rested for the next day and a half, while Hinata ran errands for the boys. She fetched food and magazines, and she didn't really seem to mind. She felt useful this way. She did not, however, return with one of the magazines Kisame had requested - the poor girl hadn't realized it was an X-Rated magazine he'd had her ask for. She almost fainted in the store when the man told her what she was trying to buy.
They checked out on the fifth day. The trio gathered some supplies from the town before finally heading out. Hinata never asked what they'd gone off to do, she had a feeling she wasn't going to like the answer... they were willing to bring her along to poison a whole town but not to do... whatever it was they'd gone to do... they'd made sure she wasn't around to see it...
Several hours had gone by before Hinata spoke. "Where... where are we off to this time?" She asked the pair. They didn't answer her at first, but after several minutes, Kisame spoke.
"We're going to the land of water, we're waiting for further orders." Kisame told her and the young girl's brow furrowed. "Aren't you... wanted there?" Well, really he was wanted everywhere... he was a rogue ninja after all... he was in dozens of little black books... so was Itachi... Hinata couldn't help but wonder how long it would be before her name... popped up in one of those books.
She wondered if her team was looking for her still... poor Kiba... she didn't like the way she'd left things... would he hunt her like Naruto was hunting for Sasuke? "It'll be fine, I have a hideout we can use to lie low while we wait." Hinata nodded gently at his words, she wondered what their next orders would be... Her head was full of curious thoughts as they made the uneventful trek through towards the Land of Water.