Chapter 13: Amegakure

It was a spiraling mass of towers and electric lines, brick and metal, stone and rust, with the overall effect being a dirty mass of purple deadnettle stems held together by spider webs. So many buildings, and so many electric lines; narrow, dingy streets, all under a purple-grey sky that almost never saw the sun.

One look was enough to give both Naruto and Hinata chills; they much preferred sleeping outside under a stone than anywhere within those city walls. So it was fortunate they found a handful of long-abandoned shops on the outskirts, far enough away to see the city lights illuminate the bottom of the clouds, but still close enough to make it back and forth fairly quickly. The shops were shielded on one side by a bank of rocks, and on the other by thick, snow-covered shrubs. Naruto knew if they were being watched, then where they slept made no difference, so they might as well sleep comfortably.

It was early evening, and they pushed their way into an abandoned blacksmith shop. They first set the shutters back in their frames, to keep the wind out, then they both fixed a few pipes in the back- banging them open. Naruto took on the effort of cleaning, while Hinata used her byakugan to scan the city. They had decided before they left Konoha to bring paper large enough for maps, and notebooks, pens, and rulers, and he helped her dig everything out and get settled.

"There's so much," she said, and started sketching walls and a gate. It was difficult to translate the three-dimensions she saw from where she sat into two-dimensions, especially to scale. She saw a hundred walls- a thousand, and kind of the distance between them, but not always the angle.

He came back into the front room and inspected the kiln. "Start on the reports instead," he suggested, and she released her byakugan and glanced at him. He had found a family of mice in the kiln, and was removing them gently to the corner of the closet, and she heard their chirping complaints. Hinata hopped up to see, and smiled at the cute little field mice, and helped him move them. The kiln was missing two bricks, so could no longer hold enough heat to melt metal or fire ceramic, but would adequately warm the shop. He looked around, and despite an hour's worth of work, it was still messy. But at least the snow and wind stayed outside. He looked over and she had started a report on the gates, and guards, and traffic. So far three gates. "How many gates?" he asked.

"Five, but there's… but there's no wall at all to the… to the northwest- you could just walk on in." Hinata looked from one, to the other, to the other- some guarded, some not, all leading to the same mess of buildings. There was no obvious organization to the layout of the city, nor the gates. The walls appeared older than the city, made of stone, with half having fallen back into the fields where they came from. "Some gates are…are guarded, others aren't. It looks-looks like two gates get a lot of…of traffic- the northern one, and the southern one. The…the one closest…closest to us is…is guarded, but not as much. Just one…one…" she stopped herself again, embarrassed of her stutter.

"Just one what?" he asked.

Surely he knew what she was about to say. "Naruto…you…you can interrupt me if…if you know what I'm going to…to say."

He turned to her with a broom in his hand. "Absolutely not. I don't interrupt you, and you don't interrupt me. That's how we work together. Got it?" He grabbed one of the fallen kiln bricks, propped open the door, and began sweeping dust and dirt outside. Dirt went out, and a blast of cold air in.

She smiled again at him. "Ok. Just one guard at the east…eastern gate. But…it embarrasses me if…if I know the other person knows what…what I'm going to…going to say, and I can't…can't get it out."

"I like your voice, Hinata. I've always liked your voice, and hearing you talk, and I like your stutter. It doesn't bother me. At all. I could listen to you talk all night."

He didn't even look at her when he said that- just kept sweeping. Now she was even more embarrassed. He liked her voice? He liked it when she stuttered? She knew her voice was low, and meek, and timid, and carried no authority whatsoever. So how could he, who's voice carried authority with every word, like hers? Then she realized that he didn't speak with authority to her- he did Shikamaru, and sometimes Sasuke and Sakura, but never her.

"Can you tell where the Kage's building is?"

She looked towards the city, and away from him- happy to hide her blush. "It looks like the Kage's building is… in the center. At least that's the…the tallest building. It also looks…"

He pushed the broom around, "Yeah?"

"Creepy."

"What's around it?"

She searched, building after building after building- none had the distinctive qualities of any of the academies, hospitals, police stations, or any other recognizable building that the Leaf Village had. They were simply tall, metal rectangles. "I can't tell. Just…just buildings. Apartments. Offices." She was beginning to feel defeated; there was a limit to how long she could use her byakugan, and she doubted if she used it the rest of the night she would find anything worthwhile. She sighed.

Naruto noticed, but let her keep looking. He shut the door and started a fire in the kiln. He found a large metal anvil in the back and drug it beside the kiln, to be used as a table. It was flat on top, and big enough to sit two dishes and two cups, and they could sit cross-legged at it. He found old towels, and folded them and wrapped them in thread-bare sheets for pillows, and lined the walls as best he could to help keep the heat in. With the walls mostly covered he cut the rest of the old blankets into towels and rags. He found a second chest with a variety of smithing tools, paper, dried moss, probably for starting fires, thread, different fabrics, and other odds and ends. Then he found what he was really looking for- a folded up cot. He positioned it around the corner, under the window, with the cleanest sheet and blanket he could find, and some pillows. He looked down at their single bed- perfect. "Hinata," he said, in a loud, stern voice. She squeaked, and turned to him, startled. He smiled at her. "Don't worry. We've got this," he said, then, "We'll just do what ninja do- sneak around and spy a little, right?"

"Y-Yeah, I guess you're right." Why had he said her name so loud like that?

"Let's take a break for now and eat."

She nodded. She stood and pulled two fish from a line hanging on her pack they had caught earlier, prepared them, and hung them from metal wires in the kiln fire. To this she added mushrooms and dried persimmons, both of which she was surprised to find. She made tea of old mans beard, birch bark, and lichen. "You did a good job in here," she said, looking around. Her eyes fell on the single bed, and her cheeks flushed. "I have a question."

He ignored this. Instead, he said, in the same stern, loud voice, "Hinata, the fish are burning."

"Wh-what?" she scampered over and took them off. They ate on small metal trays he had brought with them. All in all, for being winter, the food was delicious. Hinata had the forethought to bring salt and red acorn oil, and Naruto quite a few packs of dried noodles, although they hadn't bothered with those. She ate slowly, looking around the blacksmith shop. The first room was a little low, then the kiln. Then the shop opened to the left, and there was a bathroom and closet, and then around the wall a cot with blankets, under the window. It was a small shop, and she liked it, a lot. "It is nice in here," she said, and meant it as a compliment. "This is much better than camping outside or…or in a cave. But I still have… I still have a question."

"Hinata!" he said in that same, loud, serious tone. Again.

"What!?" she answered, startled. "Stop using that… that voice with me. God. What is it?"

He laughed- he couldn't help it. She was so cute, and so beautiful.

"And stop… stop laughing at me."

"Sorry," he said, still laughing. "I couldn't resist. You're so cute when you look surprised like that."

Another compliment; no one in her life had ever called her cute. She looked to the side, blushing.

He knew Christmas was coming, and right after that her birthday, and he had brought a few gifts with him. It was neither of those days today, and he didn't care. He hopped up and went to his pack. She blushed as she watched him; he pulled out packs of ramen, then clothes, a notebook, and finally pulled a wrapped gift out of his pack. He came back and sat down across from her. "I promise I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing because you make me happy."

Now she really blushed, and looked down, but blushing wasn't enough to squash her curiosity. She looked back up at the wrapped gift.

"Don't you dare use your byakugan," he said, and pulled it back and covered it.

"Is… is that for me?"

He nodded.

"What is it?"

He laughed again. "A gift. But it's not much."

"It's not Christmas yet. Or… or my birthday."

"Are you expecting gifts on those days too?"

She pouted and reached across the anvil and playfully punched his shoulder. "Yes," and she snatched the gift out of his hands and tore through the paper and flung it aside, and held it up and realized with wide eyes it was one of his jackets, black, with orange stripes on the hem and sleeves. This was the jacket he wore the most, before the war. She pulled it close to her face, and it smelled like him- it smelled like the forest, and his sweat, and the earth, and his body. "Naruto…" she said. His favorite jacket- to her? And calling her cute, and saying she made him happy…

"I told you it wasn't much. Consider it an early Christmas gift- it might get cold in here. But next Christmas we'll go all out. We'll get a big tree, and decorate, and-"

She was too stunned by his jacket to realize what he had just said. She held the jacket tight in one arm, and scooted around the anvil, and got up on her knees, and smiled at him. "Thank you," and she put her arms around his neck, and hugged him.

Naruto could've been given a mountain of gifts, and they all wouldn't be worth this hug. He put his arm around her, and pulled her closer. "I'm glad you like it. Try it on."

She didn't let go of him right away- she took a few slow breaths, enjoying simply hugging him. The night was black and moonless, and other than the cracking and popping fire, there was no other sound in this world than her breath, and his, and those were all the sounds she wanted. She let go of him, and stood, and looked down and smiled, and turned to the bathroom.

There was an actual, functioning bathroom in the shop. It was the second thing they had worked on. It was more a basin with a hose, and a chair with a bowl, and a piece of tin for a mirror, but still- a little unclogging of old pipes and banging a few rusted valves open behind the shop and they had running water. It was winter cold water, but it worked.

She sat a couple candles down and removed her sweater, and then after a few seconds of thought, also removed the bindings that wrapped her breasts, and pulled his jacket over her head. So cozy, she thought, and shook with warmth. She dropped the cotton strips that wrapped her breasts in the trash, then thought about what she had done for a second, and left her hand hanging in the air. She wanted to be closer to him. If they only had one week together, then she needed to get rid of her nerves, and her fears, and her doubts and simply spend time with him the way her heart told her to. She left the bindings in the trash, then looked at the jacket- the sleeves were too long, it hung down to her thighs, it could probably stand to be washed, there were a couple tears, and quite a few patches, and it was perfect. It smelled just like him, and felt so warm. She thought for a second, then slipped her black pants off, leaving only her underwear and his jacket. She felt indecent, which reminded her of her father's warning, but she also felt very cozy, and she may never get another chance in her life to be alone with him like this. She stepped out of the bathroom. He had put the trays away, and moved the anvil to the corner, and changed into cotton pajama pants and a tshirt, and was leaning against the wall, sitting, a few makeshift pillows and blankets behind him. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. "Shut your eyes."

He did.

She walked over to her pack and dug around for her shorts, and pulled those on, and then walked over and sat down beside him, on his right side, then changed her mind and moved to his left, and took his hand in hers.

"Like it?" He opened his eyes.

She felt a little like crying- being given a jacket, holding hands, hugging, and a kiss on the top of her head. This is all boyfriend and girlfriend stuff. She turned to him and hugged him- she wrapped her arms around his neck, and held him. "Thank you," she said, and he put his big arm around her shoulders, and held her close.

They held each other that way for long, quiet minutes, until finally she pulled back, and smiled at him. "I… I brought one of my jackets. Do you… do you want to try it on?"

He smiled, then he laughed, and she giggled with him. "Sure, I'll try on your jacket."

She couldn't hide her grin, and reached over for her pack and dug out an old purple jacket she brought, and handed it to him with slightly mischievous eyes.

He stood, and tried, but without tearing the shoulders out there was no way. He looked down at her the whole time; she was finally starting to smile. Finally starting to laugh. She giggled in her nose watching him try to put her jacket on, then she laughed even harder when he couldn't get it off- the sleeves were too tight on his arms. She stood up, snickering, and helped.

"Do you… do you want a present early?"

She got him a present, and brought it with her? He thought about that for a second. "Yes, and no. I have an idea for a present from you- that I want early."

"Oh yeah?" She folded her purple jacket up and put it away then took his hand again.

"I want you to sing to me, while you pet me."

She blushed bright red. "Pe-Pet you?" Her eyes were big, her long black hair pulled behind her left ear. She had porcelain skin and a round face and a slightly upturned upper lip- he could see just the thinnest line of her front teeth, especially with her mouth partways open. Her bangs fell in a straight line to nearly her eyebrows; and when her eyes were big like that- when she was surprised, or embarrassed, her eyebrows hid beneath her bangs. She was so attractive. And now her cheeks were red.

"Yeah, you know…" he pretended to have a hard time describing it- in fact, he had seen Master Jiraiya in this situation a few times, and it was Master Jiraiya who told him to always carry a nicely wrapped gift or two around- women like gifts. He knew that to be true; and he knew Hinata liked gifts, and had a couple more in his pack. "You know, scratch my hair while I lay on your lap, or sit in front of you, and you sing to me."

She looked a little relieved, but just as embarrassed. "I don't know how…how to sing," she said, and it was the truth. Her voice sounded like jagged glass in her ears.

"I don't care how it sounds," he answered. "By the way, we're sharing the bed. It's plenty big enough."

"What?" Now her eyes were really big. "Sharing the… the… the bed?"

"Wasn't that what you were going to ask me earlier? Where're we sleeping? Together- on that bed. It's big enough, we need to stay close, and it's gonna get cold in here."

Could she blush any more? Sharing a bed? With Naruto? She quick hugged him to hide. These last couple hours were stacking one indecent block, on top of another indecent block, building an indecency tower. At this rate they would- no, she pushed the thoughts out of her head, though couldn't hide her smile, or blush. She pulled back and looked at him, "Ok," she said, "But if you laugh at…at my singing, it will be the last time ever. Got it?"

"Got it." He stood, and helped her up, and by the dim orange light of the candles and fire took his shirt off.

Apparently, he slept shirtless, and apparently intended to be 'petted' shirtless. His muscles were extravagant, as if a great artist had sculpted him out of stone- every muscle, every line, taut, solid. She did not know a man could be this handsome. His face was chiseled, his eyes piercing- not just their color, but the upturned, almond shape, and sharp eyebrows- it was impossible to look at his eyes and not feel weak, and his broad forehead, and sharp granite jaw. He had the body of a boxer- a very strong and fast and lean and muscular boxer, and scars on his shoulder, his chest, his side. He was missing his right arm, but that made him look no weaker. She was blushing- she could feel the color of her face. Could she actually do this?

"You ok?"

"Of… of course."

He led her around the kiln and motioned for her to sit on the bed. It was darker in this corner of the shop: the light from the kiln didn't reach far past the wall, and the moon had clouds and shutters in its way. They carried a few candles with them, and balanced them upright with a few kunai.

Her eyes sparkled in the candlelight, and he could tell, teasing or not, she was happy. Every minute they had spent together since he held her in the woods, and kissed the top of her head, she had been happy. It was her eyes- they were sparkling, like early morning dew on foxglove petals- the color of fog rolling up over the flowers catching the morning sun. He was falling in love with her eyes, and her laugh, and her smile, and her voice, and her happiness, and her warmth. He was falling in love with the way she giggled in her nose, and the way she pushed her hair behind her left ear, and the careful, meticulous way she made tea, and shared it with him. He was falling in love with her, and wasn't sure he should be, but didn't know how to stop it, and didn't want to. He was following his heart, and at this point, the only thing that was going to slow him down was her, and what with the hugs, and hand holding, and asking him to kiss the top of her head, that didn't seem likely.

She sat down on the bed, a little nervously, and he laid down, his head on her lap. She blushed. All of these were firsts for her- holding a man's head on her lap, wearing a man's jacket, sharing a bed. It would have made her nervous regardless of who it was, but this wasn't just any man. But nerves were not enough to squash her happiness. She ran her fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp, rubbing his temples. As she did his breathing slowed and he groaned.

"Does it feel good?" she asked.

"Yes. You have to let me do it to you sometime."

She wondered if anything could be better. "Ok, next time then."

She sung old childhood lullabies to him. Her voice sounded ragged to her, but he never said a word. It wasn't ten minutes before he was asleep, snuggled against her, both of them warm and wrapped in blankets. She wanted this to last forever, and it made her sad that it couldn't. But she refused to ruin her time with him by worrying about her future. She gently laid his head off her lap, and stood to lock the door and blow out the candles. On her way back she added a couple more logs to the kiln. She walked around the corner and looked down at him sleeping, peacefully, and her heart so badly wanted this forever. What would happen if they both just fled the Leaf, and found some small village somewhere, and became farmers? That would be ok. Or maybe they could build a boat and be fishermen, and sell their fish at markets. That would be fun. Or maybe run a restaurant. It would be so easy, and so peaceful, and with him, she would be so happy and content. She did not need a large estate, or fancy clothes, and certainly not all the traditions wrapped up in being a clan princess. What she needed, what her heart needed, was him. A tear slipped from her eye, and she quietly slid into bed beside him, and covered them both up. She turned away from him, facing the room, he the wall and shutters, when he turned over and put his arm around her, and pulled her close. His face was in her hair, his arm around her, holding her tight. She blushed, and for the briefest of seconds thought of moving away from him. She felt his warmth, and his strength. His left arm was draped around her, his hand holding her wrist, which she held to her chest. His hand was touching her chest, and breasts, right above her heart. He wrapped his leg around hers, and entwined their feet together, his toenail tickling the bottom of her foot. Should she struggle free? Her father would definitely consider this indecent.

"Thank you for the gift," he said, mumbling, half-asleep. "Good night… Hi…na…"

She smiled, and her eyes smiled, and her heart smiled, and she thought to hell with indecency. She brought his hand up and kissed the back of it, and said, "You're welcome. Good night." She snuggled closer into him, and pulled his arm snug around her body, and held tight.

He felt the kiss.

They slept entwined all night, with the last thought in her head being 'to hell with indecency'. And so when the day peeked at them through the narrow slits in the shutters, she was surprised to find her jacket gone, and her body wrapped tightly around his. She was naked except for the shorts, which were hanging off her left ankle, and fear struck her. Had he taken her jacket off? Surely not. Had she? She had no memory. She was laying on her side, her face on his chest, his arm around her, her arms around him. And god this felt so good: she was so warm, and comfortable, and he was so strong, and handsome- this felt so good she had to be careful she didn't fall back to sleep, and somehow wind up even more naked. She stayed that way a warm minute, torn between the mystery of her nakedness and how amazing and right and good it felt to be this close to the man she loved, the man she was falling in love with. How did this happen? She knew she needed to retrieve her jacket, or something, before he woke up, but how to untangle herself and not wake him? Carefully she moved one leg, then her arm. She turned over very slowly, and very slowly rolled out of the blankets. She looked back; he was still asleep. She pulled her shorts up, tiptoed to her jacket, and darted to the bathroom with it in her hand. Now that it was daylight a high back window let in a little light, and she noticed in the mirror that her hair was a mess. How? She still could not remember how she had lost the jacket. It had been flung across the room. And her shorts? Had they done something? Red colored her cheeks and neck. Even if they hadn't, she had slept nearly naked with Naruto. Nearly, because at least he was clothed. They definitely could not share a bed again.

"Hinata?" he called.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Is there a reason I'm not wearing my pants? What did you do?"

Oh my god, she thought. Both of us? The tower of indecency toppled over, block by block. "What did I do? What did you do?" she yelled. She heard him rustling around outside the bathroom, and thought it best to give him a minute to get dressed. She came out, and saw him sitting on the bed, yawning and stretching.

"Good morning," he said.

"Um…Go-go-good morn-morning," she said back, blushing. She walked to the bed and sat on it beside him. "Do you…do you remember…if we did anything last night?"

"I'm guessing you woke up naked too?"

"What!? No! No. I.. uh… yeah. Did you… did you… um…"

"I didn't take your clothes off, if that's what you're asking. Or mine, and since there's only two of us…"

"It… it… it wasn't me." She looked up at him, positive. He was looking back at her, just as positive.

"Your face is pretty red. I think you know something."

"No! No. I don't… I don't know something. It's… it's just warm in here is all." And she realized it was. Her face sure as hell was warm. Perhaps that was what happened. Two logs had been too many, and it had gotten too hot, and they had subconsciously taken their clothes off. And then subconsciously held each other? What else did they do subconsciously?

"It is, kinda," he agreed, and reached over and opened the shutters a little. He wiped his finger across his chest- sweat. "I guess it's warmer in here than I thought it would be. That's kind of interesting, huh? How was it cold in here when we went to bed, and warmer when we woke up?"

She felt like some force was pulling her towards him. Like a magnet. How else could she explain napping on his chest for six hours in his apartment? And now sleeping on him naked?

"I'll make breakfast. Also, I have an idea about us going into Amegakure- how we could do it and not stand out so much." He patted her knee, and got up.

"Uh-huh," she said, and collapsed back onto the bed and covered herself up into a tight little ball. How could she face her father? Her mind went back to what it had felt like to lay against him naked- so warm, strong, hard- she blushed and squeaked, and clamped her eyes shut and cuddled up on herself and rolled around a little in the bed. She pulled the covers up, hiding in them, then peeked out, looking for him. "So…you don't remember anything? About last…last night?"

He looked at her- just her eyes- the rest was hidden in blankets. "I remember you singing to me. I remember you kissing my hand,"- He had felt that?!- "I don't remember anything after that. What do you remember?"

"The… the… the exact same. You… you were holding me, and… and we fell asleep." Together. And then I woke up holding you, she thought. She looked up at him. There was no use wondering what happened or how it happened. Surely nothing happened. Which was for the best. Or was it? She held herself tight in his jacket, with the blankets wrapped all around her, hiding her, and remembered her thoughts just before going to sleep. He said next Christmas we're decorating together, we'll set up a tree- did he see them, in his mind, living together a year from now? Wasn't she seeing the same? We could leave, and be happy, and be together like this. What would he say if I suggested it? She remembered the warm, peaceful feeling of waking up beside him, being held by him. She pulled the blankets down. "What's your idea?"

He opened his pack and fished out some nuts and dried fruit, and brought them over and sat on their cot. "Let's pretend to be husband and wife," he said. "Husband and wife bums- we'll wrap your eyes so you look blind, and I'll guide you while you look around with your byakugan, and we'll shake a can on the street for change while we map this out."

She didn't know he had the ability to remove air from rooms, but he just did.