The capital was a few hours away when Hinata required them to stop. Naruto looked at her puzzled by the sudden need for the young woman to take a break. They had been traveling pretty steadily for the past three days and not once stopped or took a break except to eat or set a camp for the night.

The tension of the first day had left as Naruto had fallen back to his usual happy-go-lucky personality and the conversation had gone on smoothly jumping from topics to topics without any major significance. It has been a nice trip with no inconvenience to note. For the most part, a nice and short report to write arriving at their hotel. But now that they were a few kilometers away from the gates, the young woman had to stop.

"Is there a problem ?" He asked as he saw her jumping from the branch she was on to the ground. He followed, watching her intently as she shook her head.

"I need to change my clothes." She mentioned getting a storage scroll out of her bag. The young man looked at her with more confusion in his eyes.

"What's wrong with your uniform? You look great just like that." He mentioned looking rapidly over her figures. A dusty blush humbly covered her cheeks as she tried not to get too flustered by the off-handed compliment.

"They are expecting a Hyuga spokeswoman." She tried to explain mentally forcing herself to not giving into the really nice feelings in her belly she got from his words.

"And that is what you are." He insisted not grasping the need to change. She looked great in her uniform, more than your average ninja if he may add. Lavandes truly complimented her eyes and for once, it didn't hide her figures. Her movement wasn't restricted and the form-fitting clothes showcased her lean and powerful muscles.

"They don't expect to see a kunoichi but a spokeswoman of the leaf." She rephrased. "About ten kilometers from here, two samurais of the Daimyo will meet us. They are the first contact we will have with their leader and indirectly with the Economist. As required to deal with this case, Konoha is sending a spokeswoman and her bodyguard. Not two shinobis. If the first contact they had of me, even though samurai, is a kunoichi it will be perceived as the village wanting to enforce an offer with violence and this can affect the negotiations in our disadvantages." Her explanation made semi-senses for him but he accepted them as they were, nodding his head. He knew Shinobi wasn't exactly adored outside of ninja's village but to the point his teammate had to hide her true identity that was a weird concept to accept.

She pointed out a few bushes and low branches that hid efficiently the spot behind and told him that she was going to change. He nodded once again watching intently, waiting for her to move. She didn't right away, looking at him expectantly. He blinked a few times before a blush violently covered his face. Snapping his head in the opposite direction, he turned his body away from her.

" I-I am… am not g-gonna look. I promise." He stuttered visibly embarrassed. Why was he so slow sometimes! A giggle escaped the young woman's mouth as she took in her arm the fresh clothes.

" I know." She laughed shyly before heading behind the leaves. The blond ninja nodded without saying a word his throat dry. He didn't want to think about what he just did and implied as a red carmine hues colored the top half of his body. Rarely, his ears were so burning hot.

Hinata was a woman.

Call him dense, an idiot, a dumbass, at this point he would gladly agree with all those terms. He would blame it on years on the field where it wasn't uncommon to be naked around other teammates. To bath, to heal injuries, in combat: showing flesh and skin weren't unusual. He didn't think much of it 90% of the time during missions. But that was because a vast majority of the time he was around comrade, shinobi, men. But Hinata wasn't anyone. She was his friend, a kunoichi but first and foremost she was a woman.

Rarely he had been so aware of their different genders and what it implied. The physical difference. He fell on his heels as he passed a hand on his face. Shame washed his brain as he recalled all the time he openly stared at her without seeing the obvious differences. Not later than a few seconds ago, he checked her out and commented. He got Sakura's rhetoric about men unasked and required complements to a woman replaying in his brain as those moments replayed again and again stopping on way to specific details.

'She definitely looks way better than every ninja I know.' He groaned in his head.

" I am an idiot." He lamented low in his beard to be sure she couldn't hear him having his mind blown by his obliviousness. Trying to calming himself, he closed his eyes focusing on the sound around him: shuffling material falling on the forest floor. His head exploded.

Involuntary images filled his brain as he shook them away trying to calm his flaring hormones. Those sound engraved themselves on the shell of his ears forever as, wide-eyed, he listened to the different material interact with her and her environment. He could almost describe every move she was doing. It was an enrapturing experience, feeling so intimate and so forbidden but he couldn't help it, his fine earring picking up every shifting movement. In a religious silence, he secretly collected her sound, memorizing the way she shifted the air around her. His blush calmed down as he returned to his natural sun-kissed complexion, his ear still hard and red as they picked up a bit more of Hinata's marks.

The rustling of leaves signaled him that she was done. Getting back on an upright position he waited for her to signal him she was presentable before turning.

She wore a dark green kimono with a cold mint-colored obi with what he could tell multiple layers underneath to keep her warm. His eyes dart out to the whiteness of her hands clashing with the richness of the green material. He could see the good quality of her garment and the care put into it. Small details on the cuffs and the top of her chest were embroidered as well as the massive Hyuga crest on her back. She looked regal he could say with confidence.

Shrugging on, her backpack on her back she turned to him gesturing him to go. He guessed that they would walk in the main road from now on since traveling through the trees could potentially degrade her clothing. He didn't mind it, he liked to walk. It was better for conversation.

Looking at her from the corner of his eyes, he assessed her mood. She looked...relatively relaxed. More than when they had left Konoha. Her shoulders were down, her chin held up high, and her step lighter. A subtle contrast with how she has held herself three days ago. He had noted the shift a bit more every day as the kilometers between them and their home grow steadily. He didn't know what to do with that information but he still kept it in a part of his brain.

A sudden flash of Pearl white caught his attention as a light giggle echoed in his heart.

'Shit' he swore inside. He felt his ears getting hot once again.

"Do I look so off-putting?" She asked taking a strand of hair in her hand her laugh still ringing in her voice.

"No! Not at all. It is just... you... you... damn it!" He looked elsewhere, embarrassed. "You look different without your uniform." He said lamely. He cringed. What was happening to him? Never he was so self-aware around her. With a critical eye, he assessed once again her expression making sure he didn't offend her with his clumsiness. She never ceased to smile as she pounded his words.

"I guess I do. But that is the point of changing. To present myself differently." She offered. Her hand stroking her long locks came tucking a falling hair behind her ears.

"I get what you told me earlier but still I think, pretending you're not a shinobi is kinda... dishonest?" He wasn't sure of the wording of his opinion but she seemed to accept it as it was.

" I am actually not pretending. They know I am a kunoichi from Konoha and there is no real artifice that can hide that. It is not really about pretending to not be something but presenting what they want to see, what they know. Someone is more receptive to something he is familiar with than something unusual." She explained. He stayed quiet for a bit processing her point of view. It made sense once again but still:

"But it is not really you." He finally voiced out. "I think we bound stronger alliance with people when we present ourselves as honest as possible. It may be harder but the results are more efficient in the long run." He didn't think she had to hide in a way an entire part of her identity to negotiate something. Her years as a kunoichi had built her up to be the woman she was today. Just like him, she had built her strength on experiences and links she had to create and entertain through years of hardships. Minimizing this part of her, that she had worked hard to built just to please some old men sounded just wrong.

She nodded.

"I agree. However, the rules are different in the Capital. They are a lot of prejudice and pride within those men and I can't deny the condescending views they have on the shinobi's world. Honesty might not be enough for them to care." Her voice had dropped a few octaves as anger rose in her chest. She remembered the distinct cold and disdainful looks some of these men had thrown in hers and her father's directions two years prior. They looked disgusted by their simple presence even as the Head of a powerful clan in their village but also in the Capital. It wasn't appreciated that a man had more influences and resources than most in the Daimyo Conseil. Clanhead from shinobi village were usually seen as simple peasants from far away rural village in the capital. Hiashi Hyuga and his daughter looked more regal than most of these men. The Hyuga clan was a powerful one and they were Shinobis. Many had disapproved of their powers.

"Don't worry Naruto." She still tried to comfort him with a smile. "It is just a look. I don't hide who I am nor am I ashamed. I may present myself as one of them but I claim loud enough that I am from Konoha. After all, I am here representing the village, am I not ?" He nodded smiling back.

Yes, she was but in a part of his mind, Shikamaru's warning rang loud and clear.

The conversation was pleasant after that. Hinata asked him about his time traveling with Jiraya and to the place they've been. He had already told her those stories (carefully avoiding the more scandalous parts) at least five times each but she still liked to hear him telling them. She still gave him her undivided attention asking questions and wanting more details about certain aspects, new ones that she hadn't asked before. She loved watching him getting animated as he recalled tales and tribulations he had with his master. He was so fond of the man that even when he dissed the old Sanin she could felt his adoration and admiration rolled off of him. His eyes twinkled a mischievous light and his laughter was light and warm.

She thought she could listen to him all her life and still not be satiated with his voice. He was so full of life. He was like summer. Like a radiant warm beautiful summer sun giving life to everything that it touches. She wanted to take his hand that was so close to hers. She wanted to bask in his sun. Even though the November weather, next to him she felt herself blooming like a rose. She never wanted him to stop talking to her. Ever. He could invent stories, create a new reality for her as long as he was talking to her happily. As long as he was always this man glowing like the sun.

His voice died down silently as he watched her beaming at him. She seemed in her world contempt, listening to whatever he was saying. The smile that bloom on his face was instant. For the first time in months, he didn't felt frustrated and inadequate around her. He was just right. He was back to those days they had spent together during his recovery after the war. When she was with him all the time. He felt this magnetic pull she had on him telling him to reach out for her hand. His finger almost instinctively brushed hers ready to take hers when a source of chakra entered his field of recognition.

Hinata felt it first as her focus shifted to the four new persons emerging from the forest. Two samurais and two large men. Her eyes darted out immediately on the Daimyo sign on one of the men's clothes. She rapidly deducted who they were as they came at their encounter. The two samurais stoped next to the two more frail-looking males before they all bowed respectfully in front of the two travelers.

"Miss Hyuga. It is an honor to meet you." One of the more thin-looking men spoke. The young woman bowed, immediately imitated by her companion extending her salutation as the etiquette required :

"It is our duty to come when our Daimyo call." She straightened her back. The delegation did the same before introduction themselves :

"I am Seji Huruo. The Daimyo asked me to be sure his guest was welcomed as it should. With me, are Iwao Tsuki and Michi Raku from the personal guard to escort you to your hotel and I am sure you recognized Shizuko Hyuga." As on queue, the Hyuga clansman took a step forward bowing low to Hinata.

"It is an honor for us to welcome you within the Capitol Estate." He spoke loudly. Hinata noted that he was more muscular than he looked at first. Not a ninja but someone capable of defending himself and others.

She politely smiled at him before presenting her companion.

"Thank you for meeting us here. This is Naruto Uzumaki. He will be with me for the duration of our stay as my bodyguard as well as Konoha's witness. We will be in your care." She bowed again. Naruto imitated her puzzled by all those ceremonials. The smaller man beamed with delight.

"The war hero himself !" He exclaimed looking at the blond ninja with avid interest. "Konoha surely doesn't spare his best element to protect such a precious persona." He commented sending a blinding smile to the young woman. She smiled nodding not without finding the compliment weird.

"We should be on our way." Suddenly one samurai pressed looking around. Naruto's on guard scan through the area but didn't detect any other chakra signature. He didn't protest though. He was eager to set in his hotel room and sleep away those three days of nonstop travel.

They arrived quite quickly in the villages bordering the capital extending it dramatically. She quite easily entertained the conversation with the assistant, exchanging pleasantries and general information about life at the Court. Behind her, Naruto was keeping an eye out staying silent with the Hyuga clansman next to him. He had given up on having a conversation with the man as he kept answering his very basic question with words answer and didn't show him any other interest other than Hinata.

He noted the intense stare those whites eyes had toward his friends. Not something he was too comfortable with but didn't say anything about it. He didn't know the Hyuga had an estate in the Capital or that a branch of their gigantic clan lived there. He started to see the extent of their influence and how impressive it was to be the heir of such a powerhouse.

It was with delight that Naruto finally flopped down his mattress happy, hours later. After what felt like days of listening to the assistant flaunt the wealth and success of obscure noblemen and other shallow compliments addressed towards his friend he got to take their leave to finally get set in their hotel room. Contrary to his usual missions, his room was one of the most luxurious ones he had ever stayed in. From the high-quality bedding to the polished furniture and rich decorum, he easily felt out of place in so much wealth. He wondered if Hinata's room was as ridiculously ornamented as his.

Almost as if he has summoned her, a soft knock startled him. He easily identified Hinata's chakra behind the door. He rapidly jogged and opened it to discover his petit partner looking fresh from a shower.

"Hey!" He saluted her smiling letting her in. She was wearing more casual cloth and a clean, citrusy smell oozed from her still damped hair. He liked the smell taking a step closer.

"I was wondering if you wanted to join me for dinner. The reception brought a meal for two in my room." She asked turning to face him smiling.

"Yeah sure." He agreed eagerly. He made his move to follow her but she didn't budge. "Hum... should we go ?" He asked showing her the way out of his room. She seemed to snap out of her little world, a red hue gracing her cheeks.

"Oh hum... yeah s-sorry I was lost in my thoughts." She stuttered looking everywhere but at him. "But you can come later after you settle down and got a shower or something. I was just coming by to invite you." She hurried to the door before bowing lowly. "Sorry for the intrusion. I'll see you later." And she flew out of his room.

He looked puzzled at the now emptied space she had stood in not a second earlier. He chuckled. 'I guess she can still be weird sometimes.' He laughed passing a hand behind his head. He kinda missed those days when she would just blush her feelings to oblivion every time she would see him. He didn't miss the fainting at all though. They had stopped as she grew more accustomed to his presence after the war when they started to hang out more together. Nowadays, rarely there to greet him. Many times on the road he had tried to see it, to provoke the scarlet hues to show on her pale complexion but she seemed immune to him. He almost felt relieved to see her react this way to something he did.

A melancholic sigh escaped his mouth. He missed her.

'She is right there.' He told himself trying to shake the feeling off. It was ridiculous to get emotional over her when she was literally in the same hotel. He had been with her nonstop for the past four days. He will be for at least two more weeks. They were no need to get in his head.

'It is not the same.'

The same voice again. Damn it. Even Kurama was less annoying he groaned. He missed that connection they had built after the war. He missed being close to her and feeling like he didn't have to hide anything. That she didn't hide anything from him either. Maybe he just had to spend some time with her again. It wasn't like he didn't felt anything anymore. They were still friends.

Shaking his head to shake off the feeling before heading to the shower. Just as his friend had mentioned, a hot shower would do good to his tired body. The warm stream of water easily washed away the kilometers he had in his legs and the days of sleeping on the ground. Getting out, smelling like citrus too, he quickly got out and changed into more casual clothes too.

Stepping out of his room, he quickly jogged up to Hinata's room. Ready to knock the door violently opened with a young heiress looking relieved to see him. He grinned at her but before he placed a word she turned toward her room leaving him at the door.

"Thank you for your service but you don't need to stay around. Naruto is here and we would like to enjoy our diner in private." She bowed. Stepping a foot inside, the said blond man turned to look at an army of people flooding the room with boxes and clothes in their hands. What was going on in here?

"But Miss Hinata… We are not done with all these packages and please, at least keep one of our men with you." Insisted a small woman taking a step forward, bowing slightly.

" Naruto is my bodyguard. I am in no danger whatsoever. Really. It is quite late and all of you should go home. I can unpack all this by myself." The petite woman stood up. Her Hyuga eyes almost surprised the blond ninja as they stared right at him. He slightly squirmed under the intense gaze stepping a bit behind Hinata. So that chilling glare was an International Hyuga thing. Not just from their village. Noted.

"We will be in our way then." She commanded making a sign as everyone in the room stopped their activities and bowed in a perfect synchronized motion. Hinata bowed too before stepping aside letting the crowd out of her room.

"Thanks M. Tsuroji; for me and tell him everything he has done for me is more than enough and very much appreciated." She thanked again to the petite women that stayed behind. The lady nodded her head before assessing one last time Naruto and heading out. He didn't miss the snarky little comment about his attire and his lack of professionalism in presence of Hinata or whatever that was about. He rolled his eyes as he was sure his friend heard it too but neither said anything.

"I'll see Miss Hinata tomorrow morning then. Have a great night."

Hinata finally closed the door behind the woman, putting her head on the door. A long sight escaped her as her body suddenly relaxed from a rigid posture. They had invaded her room as soon as she had stepped a foot in the hotel, bringing boxes after boxes, gifts after gifts, and pestering her about the different people she would have to visit and have dinner with. The sudden rush of clansmen and women had suddenly overwhelmed her. She had forgotten the extravaganza that was the Capital and the sudden motion and abrupt irruption had her feeling very underprepared.

"Uh… Hinata ?" Naruto's voice startled her. Her head snapped in his direction. She had forgotten he was in the room with her.

"Sorry about that. Sometimes my clan can be a lot." She apologized, sending him a pained smile. He looked at her with compassion. The look of pure exhaustion she had on her face was anything but telling.

"It's fine." He laughed. "It's not me that had been assaulted with hundreds of people touching my stuff." She laughed too looking at the sheer chaos that her room had become.

"Well, they are quite the ruckus. If I had known the pure mess they would have provoked, I wouldn't have disclosed my location to anyone in my family." He watched her take a box in her hand looking at the scroll coming with it, reading the words of welcoming from noblemen.

With infinite grace, she extracted from the expensive wooden pantry a delicate and rather fragile-looking fan. An awe look graced her face as she opened the object revealing a beautiful work of art on thin paper. Her eyes sparkled with amazement at the object. He couldn't take his eyes off of her as she put aside the wooden box. Once again the sheer sound of her evolving in her space, shifting the air around her mesmerized him, now coming with the image of her fanning herself with the object. His eyes seemed to narrow on infinite details like the way her hair would sway away from her face from the motion or the pink undertone of her pale neck. Was she speaking to him because clearly, his mind was elsewhere? Nowhere near their conversation.

The abrupt clap of the fan closing in her palm brutally took him out of his trance. What just happened? He took a step back as his ears once again felt incredibly hard and hot.

'What is happening to me ?' He groaned to himself focusing back on what she was saying.

"Why would I ever need such an expensive fan ?" She was rambling to herself forgetting his presence all over again. He didn't mind. She didn't need to know he was ogling her like some of those apprentice genins he had caught once or twice, dreamingly looking at her.

"Maybe Temari would like it. I should pass it to Shikamaru for him to gifted to her." She thought out loud before turning toward her friend. "Would you like to eat ?" She asked him quite puzzled by his silence.

"I came for that, right ?" He awkwardly answered, his ear still bothering him. She was taken aback by his sudden admittance. Sure, she had invited him only for dinner but she had thought it wouldn't be his only motif to joined her. She looked at him as he took her in for the first time in her room. His face morphed into stupefaction.

If he had thought his room was the epitome of luxury it was nothing compared to hers. He couldn't believe the hotel didn't have given her their most prestigious and luxurious suite. Never in his life, Naruto had stepped a foot in such an expensive bedroom. Everything from the furniture to the painting on the wall screamed wealth and opulence. More than that, boxes on boxes took most of the empty space as expensive Kimonos and Yukatas and other clothes he didn't know the names were in the process of being exposed and ready for the Hyuga heiress to wear for the next few days. The sheer number of people send to assist her to set up all those should have been a clue to how big the room was and she didn't even sleep in here. She resided in a suite. Her bedroom was behind a closed door at the end of the room. He knew she was rich but this exceeded his belief.

She grew uncomfortable. She didn't like his silence nor the familiar expression of realization he displayed.

"Uhm... dinner is over there." She muttered leading him toward a table filled with food and two plates and utensils. He let her guided him between the hazardously lying gifts. The awkward tension from the first day was back. He sensed it as he saw her retreat back to her cold shell.

"If I had known I was still in functions I wouldn't have changed my clothes." He joked embarrassed. Hinata paled, looking at him with panic in her eyes.

" No! Not at all. Please don't think you are here as anything but my friend. I am sorry if all this is just … too much. I understand. It is very overwhelming." She finished her sentences in a whispered her hands clapped around her knees. " I am overwhelmed." She admitted.

Naruto let out a shaky laugh. Her obvious uneasiness toward all the intentions she got calmed him. Why did he react in such a way? He knew her better than anyone in this city and he knew well how amazing of a person she was. He didn't need to act differently toward her.

" Yeah, it is. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised. It's just you are so down to earth I tend to forget you are kind of a princess." He smiled reassuringly. She shook her head negatively. She was nowhere near the title of princess.

" It is not usually like this. I don't know what all the commotion is about. And the gifts, and the clothes. It is to believe all those people think I came here naked! I promised, I didn't know it will be this madness." Her rambling was quite cute if he was honest. He didn't remember a time she had been this flustered and vocally mortified about something, someone had done for her but visibly the situation was horrendous in her mind. It was fun to see her so animated he realized.

Taking her hand had the effective effect to shut her up. It was small in his, hard and strangely cold but quickly warming up to his. Her eyes found his and her heart missed a beat. The azure of his pupils watched over her as the clear wind of the ocean. Relax. Breath. In her body two contradictory rhythm set in place. If her brain started to calm down and emptied itself, in her chest, her heart was getting crazy. She had to keep herself from fainting but this hand was anchoring her to the present 'Damn this man and his eyes!' She swore inside.

" I know all that. I am sorry. I am messing up with you but you got to relax a bit." He reassured smiling.

The syllables playfully left his lips in a mischievous tone. The grin on his face was so wide he pierced her chest as full-on laughter bloomed in her throat. All tension left the room as for a few seconds their connexion was back. He had reached her.

His

"Hime."

Hello ! I am glad that you found and enjoyed this fiction. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter especially since I planned it to be short but I kept adding more and more insight. It is fun to describe the process of falling in love with a friend and seeing someone under a new light. So hurray ! I hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to review if you'd like and I see you in the next chapter.

Olive