Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Author's Notes: Hello there! Here's another small update, unfortunately it looks like small chapters and updates might be the only way I'll get this story finished. I hope you all with forgive me and hang in there with me through this. I'll try to do another short chapter update this next week to follow up on where this chapter leaves off as it's mostly meant to be a set up for the next step in their training. As always please review and share your thoughts with me I love to hear from you!
~Luna
The tension Hinata had felt for most of the day slid away as she settled herself into Naruto's side. His arm can around her waist as she flicked the skirt of her dress to drift over the upper part of her legs. It ended up half on her and covering one of Naruto's legs as well and she was moving to pull it back when Naruto caught her arm in his other hand. "It's fine", he did not say anything else and for some reason Hinata found herself flushing. Unsure what had caused the reaction, his arm around her waist or the tone of his voice, she finished settling and tried to focus back on what they were meant to be talking about. "Our back story…" she started but found herself floundering, "we agreed on newlyweds. And we agreed we should have known each other for quite awhile. I think we stick as much to the truth as possible." She turned her head to glance at him as she finished. Naruto was nodding, a small crease present just between his brows. "It will make it easier to remember and we should be able to make it believable" he agreed. Taking up the conversation Naruto began to narrate "So we've known each other since school, the academy, and we were in the same class. We can't hide the fact that we are shinobi and so we shouldn't try. We can both be jounin as we are now. You come from a more prominent family and I was an orphan. We became friends and stayed that way for most of our lives until a few years ago when you took control of the relationship and moved us to the next step."
Hinata blinked at him, it was almost too close to the truth. She had meant to deviate it a bit more but it actually suited the mission pretty well. Even the way he described it would work well, her taking control. It was what they were meant to portray. She looked away and thoughtfully said "Yes, that sounds about right. And we can say that we began experimenting with the fetish fairly quickly, but never really took it as far as we wanted until moving to the village and finding a recommendation for the club. After looking into it we decided it was time to take our pleasures beyond our own home. Maybe even suggest that we are looking to try something entirely new, like an additional partner." Hinata trailed off when she glanced back at him and saw he was frowning. "Is there something wrong?" she asked, concerned that talking about that portion of the mission might be uncomfortable and if they couldn't talk about it then the physical aspect would be even harder. Her earlier worry reared its head and she began to shift away to more fuller turn to face him. Naruto nodded, "Yea, if we are sticking to the truth then I don't think we can pull off the additional partner." "Oh" Hinata said quietly but couldn't think of what else to say.
Naruto crossed his now empty arms and with his eyes squinted in his fox face, he nodded. "I wouldn't share" he said firmly. "Oh" Hinata echoed herself, a note of surprise entering her voice that she didn't try to hide. "Alright, well we can stay away from that suggestion then, if it would make you more comfortable." She kept her eyes on his face, it wasn't changing. He looked no more happy or upset than before she'd agreed. Hinata was just about to ask him to explain what he would be more comfortable with but he asked a question first. "Would you?" His voice was low. Thrown she answered what she thought he was asking. "I will be comfortable with that yes, I had not really wanted to add another person to this. It just seemed like a likely suggestion." "Well you have more experience with this particular subject than I do but I meant would you want to share me?" Hinata's face flamed before she registered that she was going to react that way and she battled to control it, turning her head to let her wavy locks cover her face. Shocked by his question and unsure why he had felt the need to elaborate she took a second to consider her answer. Working with Naruto on this mission was likely going to be the most trying experience of her life and it would only be worse if her feelings were dragged back into the open space between them. There was no need to remind Naruto of something that was quite obviously not what he wanted. She took a slight breath and then shook her head. "No I would not likely share you either. Especially if I'm supposed to be in control and we are sticking close to truth." She glanced up after a pause and saw that Naruto's eyes were open, blue shaded by the tree's leaves making them seem darker.
He just watched her for a moment longer then nodded and abruptly shifted back to his earlier mood. Smiling his foxy grin he remained leaning back against the tree and let his arms fall to his sides. Hinata remained sitting on her hip, a slight distance away and waited.
Naruto moved a second later, sliding his fingers into her hair. He began to stroke his fingers down, pull them free and then slide them back in repeating the motion. In an unspoken understanding Hinata moved to rest one hand on the ground near his hip, the other she left fall to rest on his leg just above his knee. The sensation of his fingers in her hair helping her to relax, even as her scalp began to tingle. Heat began to blossom in her stomach and she pushed to reaction down. There would be a time to let it rise, a time when she really wouldn't have a choice if the mission was going to succeed. She turned to face him and smiled a small smile. He returned it, his fingers sliding her hair over her shoulder and coming to rest on her skin. They still needed to train after all.
Hours later found Hinata standing in her room resting her head back against her closed door. They hadn't moved any further along in their physical training but they had talked for a time after. Settling on a story that fit reality in a way that made her faintly nauseous and jittery. She struggled to push the feelings aside and focus on the next step of their training. She was supposed to meet up with him again in about an hour. She needed to change into clothes more appropriate for a night out and do her hair.
Before leaving to run a few errands Naruto had asked her if she would meet him at the recently opened bar near Ichiraku. It was a nice place, with music playing just loud enough to make private conversations possible without making ears ring or throats sore from yelling. She liked the idea, it would put them in a different environment and force a new level of interaction. Dancing was possible, even with the smaller floor space in the far corner and the music usually had a nice beat. Hinata had gone only once before with Ino but she and Ino had had a wonderful time.
Now she moved to her closet and began to run her hands over her clothes. She still did not think she could bring herself to wear the outfits that Ino had purchased for her. In Konoha it would draw far too much attention to her in a way that would be more than uncomfortable. She stopped when she reached the pale rose pants that Ino had given her as a gift for her birthday the previous year. They fit like a second skin but were so soft she knew she would be able to move and be comfortable. Pulling them out and laying them on her bed she pulled a dark red shirt out of the closet next. It would be longer coming just to the very top of her thighs and would hang loose but shift with every movement. It would both hide her and eventuate her curves. She flushed a bit, it would come up to her neck but it also had an open back with thin straps to tie it closed at the base of her neck, just below her shoulder blades and at her waist. She laid it out with the pants before she could second guess her choice and moved to pull a short cream jacket out of the closet as well. It would only cover her upper back but it would help at least at first.
The walk to the bar was fairly quiet and Hinata managed to ignore the looks she received as she made her way from the compound. She had a harder time ignoring the dropped jaws, but she kept her flush to a minimum. The door of the bar was a welcome sight and the bass from the music slid into her as she reached out to take the handle and pull the door open.
Moving into the semi-darkness of the bar she let the atmosphere of the place wrap around her. Her eyes did not take the same time to adjust as most people's eyes would have and she was able to see clearly before the door had closed behind her. Hinata moved quickly into the room, away from the entrance and to the side. She saw Naruto almost as soon as she was away from the door. His distinctive blond hair was still bright in the dim light. The dark shirt he wore was more close fitting than she'd ever seen him wear. It hugged his shoulders and only loosed slightly as it reached his waist. The muscles of his upper back were clearly defined. Taking advantage of the fact that he was facing away from her she let her eyes travel down to take in the still darker pants that he wore. They hugged him as well, in ways that had her flushing and pulling her eyes away. It would not be a good idea to let him catch her staring if he turned.
Naruto was gesturing animatedly, apparently in conversation with someone Hinata could not see on the other side of him. She moved to him, coming up slightly to the left and doing nothing to hide her chakra. It was never a good idea to approach a shinobi from behind and not 'announce' your presence. Those surprises never ended well. When she was level with his shoulders she reached out and brushed her hand over his arm. She had just the fleeting thought that the way they were about to act with each other might give those that saw them pause, it might lead to uncomfortable situations in the future. The thought was not even fully formed with the kunoichi in her pushed it aside with a determined acceptance. If how they interacted here gave the people who had known them virtually all their lives the impression that something was going on between them then it would be accomplishing what they needed for the mission. The fact that most everyone who would seem them tonight would know of her feelings for him and his lack of equivalent feelings in return would mean that convincing them might actually be more difficult in the long run.
Hinata looked at Naruto's face as he turned from his conversation and looked at her. His eyes met her's immediately and he smiled. Broad and bright, his smile split his face deepening the slit scars on his cheeks. She smiled back, smile no less happy and bright if less broad. Naruto's eyes shifted from her's to her high pony tail, then reflexively down. Hinata held still and let him look as he pleased. This was part of the training. He needed to accustom himself to seeing her in something other than her shinobi clothes. She also needed to get used to his eyes on her. Hinata couldn't blush every time he looked at her or allow her self-consciousness to get the better of her. She did keep her eyes on his face though, watching his reaction as much for personal reasons as to gauge how far they would need to go in the training. His face only changed slightly. A minute tightening of the muscles around his jaw. It was a sign of approval she'd been taught in her seduction classes. It didn't mean that he was attracted to her, simply that he thought she looked nice. It was enough for now.
Hinata turned to look at the person that Naruto had been conversing with. It turned out to be Sakura. Hinata smiled at her, "Hello Sakura-san". "Hi Hinata" Sakura replied smiling in return. She was wearing a light green dress, it came to her knees and was strapless. She looked amazing. Hinata felt a slight pang. It was no secret that Naruto had been in love with Sakura since they were children, a young love that Hinata could sympathize with. Sakura was looking from Naruto to Hinata in a way that suggested he had filled her in on the mission. The look in her eyes unnerved Hinata just a little. It was a look of anticipation that reflected the look in Ino's eyes the other night when she had delivered the clothes for the mission. To Hinata's shock it looked very much like Sakura thought something more would come from this mission other than the apprehension of the target. She was trying to figure out a way to respond when she felt Naruto's hands settle on her upper arms. He had moved behind her while she had greeted Sakura. She did not know if he'd seen the bare skin of her back, was almost certain he couldn't as close as he was. The angle would be wrong. He leaned down closer to her ear his breath warm as he asked "Do you want me to help you with your jacket?" Momentarily thrown by his touch and the feel of his breath sliding over her neck, she nodded. It was such a gentlemanly thing to do, something she would not have necessarily expected from him. Naruto could still surprise her.
His hands slid up her arms to her shoulders and forward just enough to catch the jacket's edges near her neck. It still raised goose bumps on her skin. They faded quickly which she was grateful for as he slid the jacket back and off her shoulders. She let her arms move back to accommodate the slide of the fabric. It pushed her chest just slightly forward, constricting her shoulders before it was down to her elbows and then to her wrists. Her high pony tail would do nothing to hide the bare skin the jacket's removal would reveal. She held her breath for a moment but could not detect any reaction from the man behind her. She pulled her hands free and turned to take the jacket from him. Keeping her eyes on the floor to avoid the pain the lack of reaction would likely cause she wondered if she would ever get used to his indifference. It would have helped her to know that there was even a slight involuntary attraction, something to build the rest on. The mission needed some attraction on both their parts. She just barely registered his slight hesitation before he released the jacket to her.
There was a slight gasp behind her as she gave Sakura her back. She turned back around quickly, a slight flush on her skin. Sakura was recovering well, a smile on her face. She gestured at Hinata's shirt. "I like your top, I think I remember Ino telling me about it after she went shopping with you. I agree with her, it's lovely and it looks really nice on you." "Uh, arigato Sakura-san" Hinata nodded to her in thanks and continued "Your dress is very beautiful as well. You look wonderful." As she was speaking she watched Sakura look up and back behind her to Naruto. The smile on Sakura's face changed ever so slightly and she said "I can see now why Naruto looked the way he did." Then she was waving and making apologies about needing to get a drink at the bar across the room and she was gone.
Following Sakura with her eyes was just an excuse to remain turned away from Naruto. Hinata knew she would have to turn back to him eventually. Sakura's last statement still floated through the air around them and Hinata was letting the implications settle in her mind.