Part 5: The Inn
The time seemed to fly by and it wasn't long before they were at the border of the Land of Rice Patties. At which time, Naruto and Hinata came down from the trees, switching to walking in order to convincingly appear as though they were simply normal travelers. Naruto had his map in hand, and the location of the Inn they would staying at was circled. They encountered no one on their path into the village.
"See, I told you it was nothing special Hinata." Naruto whispered over to Hinata.
"Don't you think we should be using our undercover names, Nar- eh, Nagato?"
Hinata corrected herself.
"Oh right!" You're Hanami!" And you're… my wife!?" He said, looking back down at the ring on his finger. Repeating this statement back to himself made it feel much more real.
Why had Tsunade made this their backstory for the mission? He chuckled awkwardly and he and Hinata both blushed red and were thankful no one else in the village was around to see them.
"I think this is it!" He hollered, staring down at the map and them up at the building in front of them.
Hinata took a look at the map as well and then nodded in agreement.
"Well?"
Naruto held out his arm for Hinata to hold.
"Shall we?" He said with a sort of forced discomfort that made Hinata chuckle.
She grabbed onto his arm as they walked through the door of the Inn.
It was a dimly lit when they entered the building. They were standing in a small entry way with what appeared to be a dining room off to their right The smell of old wood and sake permitted the air. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust before they could make out the figure of an older man standing behind the bar in the dining room.
"Hello?"
Naruto called out cautiously, not wanting to spook the older gentleman,
"My- uh- wife and I are here to check into our room?"
He said, pointing to Hinata.
"Hmm?"
The old man looked up and slowly made his way over to the couple.
"Oh yes, I see. You must be here to check in for the night…"
Naruto tried to refrain from rolling his eyes.
"Yes sir, that's why we're here."
"You see, my wife does all of these arrangements. I just man the bar and kitchen. Give me a moment while I go fetch her, will you?"
The old man sighed as he turned to walk away to the left and disappeared into a different room.
Naruto turned to whisper to Hinata
"Why do you think Grandma Tsunade picked this place? It's run by dinosaurs and it smells like death." He pretended to plug his nose.
She elbowed him gently as she was the old man emerge from the room again, this time with an older woman accompanying him.
"Oh goodness me!" She said, running up to them in a tizzy.
"You must be the lovely young couple from the Land of Waterfalls! We weren't expecting you until this evening."
She stared down at a sheet of paper she was holding in her hand.
"Mr. and Mrs. Tanji?" She gazed up at them, eyeing them intensely.
"Yes ma'am." They responded in unison, muscles tensing in response to her piercing gaze.
"Well, I do apologize but the room is simply not ready yet. We are making extra accommodations to our honeymoon suite that take a bit of extra time."
She motioned her husband to the kitchen.
"My husband will prepare you a meal and drink, you must be famished from your journey."
As she spoke, Naruto's stomach growled and he grinned
"That sounds great!"
"Splendid! Once you're done with your meal, your room should be ready and I can show you to your accommodations."
She gazed down at their bags.
"One last thing, I'll have our head of security take your bags and place them in your room so you don't have to fuss with them."
Just then, a large young man entered the room, his head nearly touched the ceiling and he was dressed in all black.
"S-security?"
Naruto stared in awe at the man, his grip tightening on his bag.
"Yes well, with all those rumors about those drug lords in this land, we can't be too careful."
She looked around the Inn, they appeared to be the only residents staying here at the moment. "It's really started to affect our business." She sighed heavily.
"Oh, I see…"
Naruto's expression softened and he handed their bags over to the tall mysterious man.
"Perfect!"
She shooed them towards the dining room and towards a table where they sat.
"Enjoy your stay here at the Rice Patty Inn!"
Once they were sure they were alone again, Naruto whispered over to Hinata,
"That security guy gives me the creeps!"
"It does seem a bit excessive given the nature of their business."
Her brow furrowed slightly.
"What would the drug lords want with the Inn or the Inn keepers?"
"I don't know but I'm not so sure about the old lady…"
He glanced to the side suspiciously.
"What do you mean?"
"I bet that's what Grandma Tsunade looks like without all her age-defying jutsu."
He shuttered.
She couldn't help but chuckle.
Just then, the old man emerged from the kitchen with two bowls of rice topped with some type of glazed meat and vegetables.
"House special." He said curtly, placing the bowls in front of them.
"Wow!" Naruto's eyes widened.
"This looks great! Thanks old man!"
"So, my wife says you two are newly weds?"
His voice was deep and grumbly, but he was genuinely curious.
"How did you two meet?"
Naruto and Hinata's eyes locked for a brief moment and a look of panic flashed over their faces. They hadn't discussed a shared back story for this mission. All Lady Tsunade told them is that they were to portray a newly wed couple. Naruto was realizing how ill-prepared they were to maintain their cover.
Hinata jumped to the rescue.
"We grew up together in the same village. We met in school."
She smiled, her eyes squinting slightly as she took a bite of her food.
The old man eyed her, pondering her response but did not seem to be off-put by the short pause before answering his question.
"I see… that's like me and my old lady. Guess you're around someone long enough, falling in love happens naturally"
He chuckled to himself and then walked away.
Both Naruto and Hinata blushed. Hinata's response was quick and seemed to quell any further suspicions for the time being. It was also entirely accurate. Hinata and Naruto had grown up together. They had known each other since the beginning of their academy days. They had watched each other grow up into respectable shinobi. Neither of them could linger on the old man's words, as the old lady had re-entered the room.
"Oh, I hope my husband wasn't a bother. Are you enjoying your food?"
"It's delicious!" Naruto said enthusiastically.
"That's good!" The old lady put on a forced smile that nearly reached across her entire face. "Well, your room is ready now. Allow me to give you the tour."
She rushed them up from the table, forcing them to leave their meal unfinished and guided them into the back of the Inn into a room at the end of a hallway,
"Like I said, this is our special honeymoon suite,"
She said, opening the door and ushering them in to the large and spacious room.
There was only one bed and it was low to the ground and in the center of the floor. Candles were scattered around every corner of the room and were lit, casting a warm and inviting glow that emanated off the walls. There were fresh flower petals by the door which opened up into a back patio.
"You also have access to your own private hot spring. After such a long journey, you simply must relax and enjoy yourselves."
She handed them a pair of fresh robes. Naruto and Hinata stared awkwardly at each other and then at the old lady.
"U-um… where are our belongings?" Hinata asked politely.
"Ah, yes. As promised, your things are all here, safe and sound." The woman opened a closet to reveal their bags and then quickly shut it.
"Well, I suppose I should leave you two alone."
She gave the two another forced grin and then turned to walk out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
"Something's weird about that lady…" Naruto whispered.
"Yeah, I think she's suspicious of us…"
Hinata said, walking over to the closet to and looking into her bag.
"The kunai!" She gasped.
"Huh?" Naruto walked over and knelt down next to her.
"Y-your kunai knives— they're gone! Shuriken too! Someone has gone through our bags!"
Naruto took a look inside the bags as well. His clothes and snacks were still inside, but all of the ninja gear was missing.
"Mine too!"
"Do you think it was the old lady?"
"Or that suspicious security guard!" Naruto punched his fist into his palm.
"Well… if they found our weapons, then do you think they already suspect we're Ninja?"
"That would explain all the questions and weird looks she was giving us just now…"
He furrowed his brow.
"Hinata, can you use your byakugan to see if you can find the old lady and see what she's up to?"
Hinata did as he asked.
"Byakugan!"
She peered down the hallway and back into the dining room of the Inn.
She shifted her gaze into the kitchen where she could see the old couple.
"I see her and her husband. They're in the kitchen talking. I see the Kunai knives on the counter!"
"So she did take them…"
"That's not all…" She whispered.
"What is it!?" He lowered his voice to match her volume.
"There are at least eight security guards surrounding this room… wait I think I can hear the lady saying something to one of them!" Naruto's eyes widened with anticipation.
"She… says…"
Hinata's eyes and ears strained as she tried to make out the words.
"… They don't look like any newly weds…If they bathe separate then we'll know for certain they are spies…"
As she finished making out the sentence, Hinata's face blushed a deep crimson and she let out a shallow gulp. Naruto pondered the words for a bit longer before he snapped to their meaning.
"Bathe… separate… spies…?"
His eyes shot open and his jaw dropped.
"So does that mean we have to bathe together in order to keep from blowing our cover!?"
All Hinata could do was nod. Her eyes were shut tight, as if she was trying to keep the thought from entering her own mind.
He slapped his hand to his forehead.
"Some recon mission this is! We're supposed to be the ones gathering intel on this stupid town and we're the ones being spied on!"
"Wait… Naruto… that's it!"
"Huh?" He shot her a confused look
"What if the inn is connected to the drug operation?"
He scratched the side of his head, clearly not following her logic.
"It would explain the excess security. The fact that they searched our bags. The suspicion of us from the moment we arrived… they must have been anticipating spies. And the only people who expect spies are the ones who have something to hide!" Hinata's mouth formed into a proud grin.
"Ohhhh.. wow! That makes a lot of sense" Naruto said, his grin mirroring hers.
"Hold on a minute. Maybe I can confirm that theory… Byakugan!"
Hinata gazed intently through the inn again. She had eyes on the innkeepers and at the eight security officers spread out around the grounds. 'Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.' She thought to herself.
'Wait!'
Hinata's eyes slowly shifted down. She could see below the floorboards to what appeared to be a basement below. There, she could see at least four more guards, all of them armed, who seemed to be carrying large bags of some mysterious powder and loading them into crates.
"Bingo…" Hinata whispered.
"What is it?" Naruto said, staring down at the floor.
"As I suspected." Hinata said, raising her head to meet his gaze. "The inn keepers are actually our drug lords…My guess is that the inn is just a front for their real business."
"And you're certain it's drugs?" Naruto asked inquisitively.
"No way to be certain, but they are loading bags of white powder into unmarked crates, and they certainly don't want anyone going down there…" Hinata said, eyeing the guns.
"Wow…" Naruto said in disbelief. "So, what do we do now?"
Hinata paused for a moment, thinking carefully.
"We can't sacrifice the mission. We still need more information to confirm our theory and find out what they plan to do next." She said, her face turning redder by the minute, as she tried to maintain her composure. "N-Naruto… we need to convince them that we aren't spies."
"Hinata… are you sure you're comfortable with this?" Naruto said, realizing the implications of what she was saying and turning redder himself.
Hinata's head slowly turned to face the hot-spring outside of the patio. She gulped. "I-I'm sure…"
He let out a slow exhale.
They spent the next few moments in silence, their backs turned as they changed out of their traveling clothes and into the robes that had been provided. Naruto was careful to keep his eyes on a particular spot on the floor to to prevent his eyes or his mind from wandering. Hinata was practically dressing herself with her eyes shut, attempting to calm her racing thoughts. After what felt like an eternity, Naruto broke the silence.
"Are you ready, Hina—er Hanami?"
"Mhm" She squeaked, turning to face him again.
He placed his hand behind her back and lead her out, closing the door behind them.
He lowered his voice to a barely audible whisper. "I'll get in first, turn my back towards you and count to 10, that way you have time to get in, got it?"
Hinata nodded. She was shaking out of nervousness. She turned away. She could hear Naruto's feet break the stillness of the water. She heard him wade through for a few seconds before stopping all movement— that was her sign. She began counting down in her head from 10…9…8… Her foot made contact with a cold, wet rock and suddenly she lost her footing. She let out a scream as she fell into the hot-spring.
Naruto jolted up and instinctually turned around. He could see Hinata's head peaking up just above the water.
"What happened? Are you okay?"
"Y-yes…" She winced. "I'm okay. I just slipped."
Naruto turned to take a closer look, keeping his eyes laser focused on only the parts of her body that were potentially injured. "Your leg… it's bleeding". His voice showing concern.
"T-there's. A first aid kit in the bag… but right now I think we've got bigger problems."
Hinata had activated her byakugan and spotted several security guards approaching, likely drawn by the sound of her scream.
"We have visitors." She whispered.
Naruto groaned. "Seriously!? I'm getting so sick of this place." His mind was racing. "Hinata… you said it yourself— for the sake of the mission, we gotta sell this whole newly wed thing right?"
Her eyes widened as they met his intense stare.
"Are they watching us right now?"
She nodded.
"Do you trust me?"
She nodded again.
Naruto took a deep breath as he brought both hands out from the water and up to either side of Hinata's face. He tilted his chin slightly and began bringing his face closer to hers. Before she even had time to think, he pressed his lips against hers, firmly but with careful consideration not to smother her. By instinct, she gasped and without realizing it, she began kissing him back, feeling her heart thud against her chest. After about a minute had passed, Naruto broke the kiss and stared at her.
"Are you okay?" He asked nervously.
"Y-yes" she said attempting to hide her face in the steam from the hot-spring "I think they're gone for now…"
"D-do you think that convinced them?" He said, laughing uncomfortably.
"I think it was pretty convincing" Hinata said, still recovering from shock.
They sat for a few moments, just enjoying the warmth of the water. Hinata had to admit it felt relaxing for her sore muscles, after a hard day of training with Naruto. Her mind began to wander, thinking about how much she had enjoyed spending time with him these last few days. Her eyes wandered to the ring on her finger, allowing herself to entertain the fantasy that just for a moment this wasn't a mission after all.
"Hows your leg?" Naruto said, breaking the silence and snapping her back to reality.
"Just a scrape is all".
"C'mon, let's get you bandaged up."
He made his way toward the edge of the hot-spring, reaching for a towel to quickly wrap around his torso before getting out and handing her one too. She accepted it and waited until he turned back to re-enter the room to step out and follow him. Naruto located Hinata's first aid kit and removed several items from inside. She took a seat next to him on the floor, blushing as she caught sight of his bare torso. She went to grab the gauze and disinfectant, but Naruto's hand beat hers to it. Without saying a word, he inspected her wound carefully and dabbed on the disinfectant. She winced.
"Sorry" he said softly
"It's okay"
He carefully wrapped her leg with a few layers of gauze and was in the middle of placing the remaining items back in the first aid kit when they heard a knock on the door. Naruto turned to Hinata who immediately understood what to do.
With her byakugan activated, she whispered, "It's the old lady."
"I'll handle this" Naruto said, rising to his feet and making his way to the door.
He opened it slightly, just enough for the woman to see him, but to keep Hinata hidden.
"Oh, pardon my interruption," The woman said, in her sickly sweet voice, upon seeing that Naruto was wrapped in a towel and still wet from the springs. "I see that you and your wife are settling in nicely.
"Yes." Naruto said, his voice slightly deeper than usual. "However, we noticed that some of our belongings are missing."
The woman shot him a sharp look. "You don't say…"
"Yes. You see, my wife and I, we heard about the potential danger in this region, so on our way into town, we reluctantly purchased some used ninja gear from a rather shady merchant on our path…"
Naruto was painting a rather convincing tale.
"Neither of us have weapons experience, so it was an admittedly foolish idea, but we thought if we had the weapons, we might be able to ward off any potential thief or troublemaker."
The woman softened her gaze again. "Well, here at the Rice Patty Inn, we have a strict no-weapons policy, surely you can understand that."
"Understood. I just didn't want this to become a misunderstanding. My wife and I graciously appreciate your hospitality." Naruto bowed his head respectfully and made to close the door. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight you two!" She said in a sing-song voice.
Naruto turned back to face Hinata, letting out a sigh of relief. "Phew… hopefully that helps salvage our covers a bit."
"Good thinking" Hinata said, her mind buzzing from all the times she heard him say 'my wife' and attempting to keep her mind focused on the mission.
"Thanks!" He said, beaming slightly "And Granny Tsunade said I wouldn't be any good at an undercover mission!"
Hinata smiled at him, thinking about how he constantly sought to defy other's expectations of him. It was truly the most admirable quality in her eyes— and speaking of eyes, Hinata turned hers to look towards the bed. This would surely be their next obstacle. Naruto followed her gaze and caught on to what she was thinking.
"Hinata, if you want, I can sleep on the floor, and you can take the bed."
"A-at the risk of raising further suspicion…" Hinata's voice tightened as she attempted to form her next few words "We might be better off sharing it."
"I guess you're right. We might not be out of the woods just yet." Naruto nodded, not putting it past the old lady to sneak a peek into their room at night. "For the mission." He let out a small grin.
"For the mission" She repeated, blushing slightly and avoiding his gaze.
"I guess it isn't all that different than sleeping in a tent on the trees." He said, attempting to convince himself that this was all totally normal.
The two ninja silently changed into their sleeping clothes, seeming to stall as long as possible before making their way over to the bed. Hinata crawled into bed first, burrowing herself under the blankets. Naruto laid down beside her, opting to rest above the covers. His body felt stiff, rigid and his eyes stared intently up at the ceiling.
"Well Hinata…" He finally spoke, breaking the tense silence.
"You're the recon expert… we've just about solved this small town mystery. What do we do tomorrow?"
Hinata wasn't used to feeling in charge on missions. She thought carefully for a moment.
"We maintain our cover, have breakfast in the inn, leave in the afternoon and alert the local authorities on our way out of the village. It's their job to investigate from here."
"So no kick-ass ninja battle?" Naruto said, turning to her with a child-like gaze.
Her heart skipped a beat as she let out a soft chuckle. "Afraid not."
Naruto let out a disappointing sigh, "Well, goodnight then."
"Goodnight, Naruto"
Hinata rolled over onto her side, her back facing Naruto. This time, she was the first to fall asleep and did so in a matter of minutes. Naruto on the other hand, was the one feeling restless. His mind was spinning as it recalled the days events. Flashes of images in rapid succession— Waking up in the forest to discover his arm wrapped around Hinata's waist—Hinata grabbing onto his arm as they entered the Inn— the old man's words '…Guess you're around someone long enough, falling in love happens naturally…'— the kiss— His mind halted as the memory of his lips pressing against hers came into view. Goosebumps washed over him as he recalled the sensation of her skin grazing against his. All of his thoughts and feelings were tangled up into a lump that sat in his chest. Naruto had mixed feelings about the mission coming to an end after tomorrow. The truth was, he found himself really enjoying Hinata's company. The last few days with her had felt like a lifetime, and the thought of it ending so suddenly felt unimaginable. He selfishly didn't want to go back to feeling lonely, and yet he was also battling the urge to protect Hinata, to support her during this difficult time with her family. Would it be too much for him to offer his home to her? Would that totally freak her out? His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Hinata's soft moan, she appeared to be stirring.
"Mmm… Naruto…." She hummed
'She's sleep talking…' He said turning towards her.
"… kiss me…" she whispered sharply, with a confidence he had never heard.
His lip twitched. The Hinata he knew would never be that direct. For Naruto, this confirmed that she was in fact asleep, and in the midst of some fantastical dream— a dream about her and him, kissing.
"I want to, Hinata" he whispered back, brushing his hand over her cheek softly.
Hinata stirred again and rolled away from him again. Naruto shut his eyes, imagining himself back in the kiss at the hot-spring, only this time without security guards spying on them, without the pressures of the mission and with their true appearances. The fantasy was enough to carry Naruto through into a deep sleep.
