So the format doesn't have a space before the start of paragraphs because i have to upload the story to my phone and then edit it elsewhere to format it and I can't just use tab on each paragraph. I'd have to hit the spacebar like 9 times to get a decent distance. I'm too lazy to do that. On a separate note, this is the longest chapter yet, and I hope one of the better ones craft wise. I believe I'm improving, however self assessment tends to be flaw. As does the extremes. Both good and bad. Criticism without reasoning is just being rude. Now, leave a review telling me if this chapter was too fast, or had some flaws. Or if you can't find any, just leave one to say hi I guess? I really look forward to them. Now, enough talk, welcome back to another chapter of Team Celestial!
I don't own Naruto. Me and some other fanfic writers tried storming Kishimoto's house but that still didn't work. Not the smartest move, I'll admit, but the rights to Naruto were rigged. It's not like it's been proven to be Kishimoto's over and over again or anything. We want justice!
(I am making fun of Jan 6ths events. I do not support them in any way, shape, or form)
!_!]}{[!_!
The day after Naruto's arrival was full of Hokage ceremonies. The counsel did not want to wait a day more without a Hokage. With Tsunade dubbed Hokage, the village released a sigh of relief. The day after, Naruto expected to train with his teammates, but he was proven wrong.
"What? No training today?"
"Nope", replied Kakashi. "We just spent the past month training. I know for Hinata and Sasuke money isn't a problem, but it is for me, and I'd assume after going a month without a paycheck, it's about to become quite the problem for you Naruto".
Naruto's eyes went wide at this realization. 'Shit he's right! Pervy-Sage only payed for the Hotel and on the trip. I had to pay for my food. And with the quick shopping spree the other day! No it can't be!'. Naruto took out gama-chan. He started melting out of horror at how light and empty it was.
"A mission it is! And it better be a C-rank!"
"Yes, it'll be a C-rank. You guys have earned it. Besides, all we've done is train the past month. I'd say it's time to put that training to use"
All of Team Seven was happy with this answer. Besides Naruto's little excursion, the team hadn't left the village since the mission to wave country.
()()()()()()()
When the team arrived at the Hokage's office, Naruto greeted the new Hokage with the utmost respect. "Hey Ba-chan! We need a C-rank mission! You got any?!". Kakashi had a sweat drop, Sasuke paled slightly, and a tick mark or two formed on Hinata's forehead.
Tsunade was unfazed with her work. "I told you not to call me that brat!".
"And I told you not to call me brat! Anyways, you have any good C-ranks?"
"You nearly lost your life a week ago kid. Back-off. Besides I don't have any C-ranks right now. The other jounin senseis snatched them up this morning".
The genin of Team Seven threw Kakashi a glare.
It was then Shizune came in with a stack of papers. "Tsunade! We've gotten 40 more mission requests. The council is calling another meeting. Several shopkeepers are trying to renew their deeds to their shops. AAANNNDD the hospital has sent several messages asking if you could look at some of their more severe cases". It was then Shizune noticed the others. "Oh. Hello. I'm Shizune. You're Naruto's teammates and sensei right?".
"Yes. That would be us. You arrived with Tsunade-sama the other day right?" replied Kakashi.
"Oh. Yes that was me. You see I've been traveling with Tsunade for the past several years. I haven't been in the leaf for quite some time". 'I can't believe he actually remembers me. He seemed to only be paying attention to his book when we arrived'.
"The leaf has changed quite a bit since then. Would you like me to show you around when we return?" offered Kakashi. Everyone but Naruto was surprised at this. Naruto didn't realize the implications. 'Did Kakashi just flirt with Shizune?' they all were thinking. Shizune even blushed a little.
"I-I'd like that"
Tsunade tried to bring things back to business. "Anyways. Shizune are there any C-rank missions?". Shizune placed the stack of papers on the desk and pulled one out. "Well it looks like you're in luck Naruto. This is the last C-rank mission of the day. Team 7, you will be providing escort to a traveling caravan. They have been travelling around Fire Country for quite some time now and decided it was time for a change of scenery. They're requesting safe travel to Sand Country".
"Yes! A new country!" Naruto had always wanted to explore the world, and the wave mission briefly allowed for it, but now he could really enjoy the country without having to worry about S-Class assassins.
"Where and when are we meeting up with our clients?" asked Kakashi.
"You're to meet them at the gates at 8 tomorrow for the genin. And for you Kakashi, you have to be there by 6. It's the only way you'll be on time. This mission should take a day or two more than a week".
Kakashi slightly deflated at the jab Tsunade took at him. Shizune gave a small giggle at the sight.
After leaving the Hokage's office, Naruto asked "Since we're not meeting the client till tomorrow. Does that mean we'll have a day to ourselves Kakashi-sensei?".
Kakashi thought about it for a second. "No. While we won't be training, there's other stuff that needs to be addressed. Specifically with Sasuke. You and Hinata can go to the training ground and demonstrate what you've learned over the past month. I'll send a clone with you to make sure you actually do".
The smirk Naruto had had on his face was now gone. He had thought that he'd be able to relax and talk with Hinata instead of training since there Kakashi wouldn't be none the wiser, now his plans of relaxing were foiled. Hinata caught on to his thought process and rolled her eyes at his laziness.
"Sasuke, you and I are going to meet with Jiraiya. We're going to see if he can do anything about that seal of your's". Sasuke nodded his head in understanding. With nothing else to say, Kakashi made a clone to send off with Naruto and Hinata and then went with Sasuke to find the legendary toad sage.
As one would expect of a super pervert, Jiraiya was conducting "research" at the hotsprings once again.
"Yo, Jiraiya-sama. How's it going?"
Jiraiya jumped at the greeting. After seeing who it was, he quickly composed himself, seeming to have either forgotten or had ignored what they had caught him doing. "Ah Kakashi. Did you listen to my advice?".
"Yes, I did as you suggested. Tomorrow my team and I set off for a mission, but after I'm scheduled to give her a tour of the village".
"So what do you think of her so far?"
Kakashi shrugged trying to come across as indifferent. "She's pretty, no question there. She seems nice, smart. I'll give her an honest try". Jiraiya smiled at this. "Though, I must admit all I have for experience is literature," Kakashi said sheepishly.
Jiraiya was dumbfounded at this. "You've never dated someone before?!". Kakashi sheepishly smiled. While it was completely none of his business, even Sasuke was amazed that Kakashi had never entered the dating realm.
"I've never had the interest to do so. All of the kunoichi in my age range aren't my type and have already hooked up with someone".
Hearing this Jiraiya let a small smile rest on his face. "Well, lucky for you, she also has had little to no dating experience, just some small interests here and there from what I've heard. So you two can find out how it works together. Now, I'm guessing you didn't come here to tell me that you followed my suggestion".
"Wait you told him to offer Shizune a tour of the village?" Sasuke asked, trying to understand what was going on.
"Yes, after the celebration yesterday, Jiraiya-sama came and found me. After a brief discussion of topics of interest, he asked me if I was interested in going out with Shizune. At the time I was iffy about doing so, but he urged me to get to know her, so I asked if she would like a tour".
Jiraiya nodded his head confirming all of this, "although I thought you would've been more discreet about it. Oh well. Now, enough of that. How can I help?"
Sasuke was thankful they had finally gotten to their original purpose of seeking him out.
"Jiraiya-sama, during the second exam Orochimaru placed a curse mark on Sasuke. Naruto and I were able to seal it the day after, although it only lasted a little over a week. We were hoping you could take a look at it and hopefully remove it or it's side effects".
Jiraiya's face lost any and all goofiness. Sasuke found it to be slightly unsettling how serious he had become. Jiraiya gestured for Sasuke to show the curse mark. Without a word Sasuke complied, pulling his collar away from his neck to reveal the curse mark.
After a minute or two of studying it, Jiraiya stepped away and started pacing and mumbling. After another minute of that, he had come to his conclusion. "Alright kid. While Naruto and Kakashi did a decent job, it's not going to last much longer. Now, I can not remove the curse mark unfortunately, however I can mitigate most of its influence, that way it can't make you angry or make you angry quicker. It shouldn't take too long, however it will require the removal of Naruto's seal".
"Perfect," replied Sasuke. "When can we get started?".
"Well if you really wanted to, I could do it right here. Thanks to being able to study Anko's curse mark for a bit, I was able to write up a seal that can be applied by anyone for cursemarks. With a few minor additions I can make it fit to your curse mark and strengthen the seal. If you do want to start immediately, I would suggest moving into the forest. You need to take your shirt off to make it as efficient as possible and I don't think in front of the hotspring is the best location if you ask me".
Sasuke leapt to the forest, Jiraiya and Kakashi following. After finding a small clearing with a log to sit on, Sasuke removed his shirt, fully exposing his curse mark.
'Man this kid doesn't waste time!'. Jiraiya pulled out the curse mark seal from one of his pack pouches along with his brush and ink. After a brief few strokes Jiraiya had removed Naruto's seal. He then placed his own over the curse mark and channeled some chakra into the paper. The ink transferred itself to Sasuke's skin, fitting itself around the curse mark.
With that done, Jiraiya tossed the paper over his shoulder and readied his brush. With delicate little strokes, Jiraiya slowly drew the needed marks to finalize his seal. After about 4 minutes, he was done. Placing a hand over the seal and curse mark, Jiraiya activated it with chakra. Pain pulsed throughout Sasuke's body for a brief few seconds, the curse mark trying to fight off it's new jail, however in the end, jiraiya's seal emerged victorious. Sasuke was on his knees trying to steady himself, one hand clutching the curse mark and the other stabilizing him against a tree.
When he saw that Sasuke was in pain, Kakashi tried to help, but he didn't know how. He settled for waiting for Sasuke's pain to end so he could then help him get back on his feet.
After settling Sasuke back on the log, he handed his genin his shirt. Sasuke shakily took it, struggling to pull it back over his body.
Jiraiya handed Sasuke a flask. Sasuke eyed it cautiously, expecting it to be Sake. "It's water kid. Trust me. You need it".
With Jiraiya's clarification of what it was, Sasuke hesitantly took it. Having a few some sips before downing the entire flask.
Sasuke handed the empty flask back to Jiraiya and tried standing up. He nearly fell, but Kakashi caught him and helped Sasuke find his balance. Sasuke didn't stumble after that, shuffling his way out of the forest. Using trees to steady himself.
"That kid's tough, I'll give him that. But he's just like Naruto. Doesn't know when to stop".
"Unfortunately, I think it's because no one has ever told them to stop".
Jiraiya thought back to his trip with Naruto to find Tsunade. Every day Naruto would fall asleep as soon as he touched the bed. Since he had trained in his mindscape, Jiraiya had no clue how long or hard Naruto had trained himself, but he knew that it would've had to be hours of constant training for Naruto to pass out like that.
"Well, I'd best be off. I have to make sure Sasuke goes home to rest instead of trying to train"
Jiraiya waved him off, watching his pupil's pupil walk off to his own genin. 'To think Hiruzen-sensei got to see over 6 generations of genin. I wonder how many I'll be able to see'.
"Well, no use guessing about it. Now, let's get back to research". A disgusting pervert look took shape on Jiraiya's face as he continued through the forest to find another spot to peep.
(_(_(_(_(_)_)_)_)_)
Naruto was mesmerized by Hinata's taijutsu style. Since she couldn't safely use it in a spare, Hinata demonstrated against a wooden pole. Little to say, there wasn't much of it left when she was finished. Naruto instinctively applauded the performance, causing Hinata to have a small blush come to her face.
"W-well, it's your turn," said Hinata. Taking a seat next to Naruto. Naruto smiled and excitedly got up to stand in front of his own pole.
"Prepare to be amazed Hinata!". Hinata instinctively put up a mask of indifference, but secretly she was very curious as to what Naruto had learned over the past month.
Kakashi's clone even looked up from his book to watch.
Naruto brought his right hand in front of him, then he focused intently on it. It started with a few brief flashes of chakra, and then a ball of pure energy took form within his palm. Hinata was fascinated by it, curious as to what it did and impressed once again at Naruto's incredible chakra reserves.
Kakashi had done something unthinkable. He dropped his book. He didn't even notice it hit the ground. 'Sensei's jutsu'.
Naruto had a big giddy smile on his face, "watch this!". He walked up to the wooden pole and slammed the rasengan into it.
The pole disintegrated. Like a wrecking ball plowing through a sand castle, small wood chips went flying everywhere. A small shockwave went throughout some nearby trees, rustling their leaves. Hinata and Kakashi felt their hair be blown back briefly. Their jaws to the floor, only a small percentage of how much their expectations were blown away.
"So. What do you think?" Naruto asked, that giddy smile still plastered across his face.
"Who taught you THAT?!" shouted Hinata, finding it slightly terrifying that Naruto was capable of using such a destructive jutsu. And seeing as he's still full of energy. A destructive jutsu he can use regularly.
"Pervy-Sage did. And Shizune taught me about poisons. Why?"
"Someone trusted you with something that powerful?"
"Hey! I'm not that irresponsible!"
Hinata raised an eyebrow.
"It's not like I'm going to be using it in public areas!"
Hinata thought about it for a second before sighing in defeat. 'Well there's no reversing it. Now he knows one of the most powerful jutsu I've ever seen. Great'. "What poisons did you learn about?" she asked, hoping that Shizune hadn't taught him the deadliest poisons in the world or something.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at her before continuing. "Well, miss I don't trust Naruto. I learned 3 different poisons. One to paralyze. One to blind. And one to knock unconscious. All temporary of course. You happy?".
Hinata thought about it for a second before shrugging indifferently. Naruto nearly lost it at that point. Making multiple incomprehensible words of frustration before trying to simmer his emotions with a long sigh.
Kakashi zoned out and wasn't able to comprehend anything after seeing the rasengan. 'Sensei's jutsu. Jiraiya taught it to him. Is he ready to handle that? And if so, does that mean I can teach him some of Sensei's jutsu? And the Hiraishin seal? Will Jiraiya teach him that too?!'. His thoughts were disrupted by Naruto.
"So Kakashi-sensei. What do you think?"
He thought about it for a moment. "Well, I think we still have a ways to go with that jutsu. I knew the creator of it, believe it or not, and I know that he was never able to finish it".
"What?! Really?! Who was the creator?"
Kakashi smiled, "My sensei".
Naruto's jaw dropped. "Your sensei made that jutsu?! Who was your sensei?!".
Kakashi continued to smile as he bent down to meet Naruto's level, "It's a secret".
Naruto face faulted, quickly getting back on his feet. "What the hell Kakashi-sensei! You can't just say your sensei created an awesome jutsu like that and then not tell us who it is!".
Kakashi kept silent, his eye still smiling. Naruto now had his arms crossed, Hinata joining him. Finding this to quite the injustice.
Kakashi waved to them both. "See you tomorrow". He then poofed away. Leaving Naruto to explode at his departure, and Hinata to listen to his short rant about secretive senseis. She made a mental note to ask her father who Kakashi's sensei was.
Later that night, at dinner Hinata asked "Father, who was Kakashi-sensei's sensei?".
Hiashi stopped eating at this. Slowly lowering his food back to his plate. The rest of the family continued to eat, all listening to what Hiashi would give for an answer.
"Kakashi Hatake's sensei was Minato Namikaze. The genius of my generation. You know him as the Fourth Hokage".
Hinata, Neji, and Hanabi's eyes went wide. The Fourth Hokage was shrouded in so much mystery in Konoha. Since he was such a formidable threat in the Third Great Ninja War, he kept many secrets. Any friends or family were excluded from the history books, and the people of Konoha either didn't know, or were asked by the Fourth to keep it a secret.
"Did you know the Fourth Hokage, Uncle?" asked Neji.
Both of the Hyuga twins did something that made all three jaws in the room drop. They smiled. As if reminiscing on an old memory. "We did". Said Hizashi.
"While we weren't on the same team as him. We were friends," continued Hiashi.
"He brought us out of our Hyuga shells. He even acted as a wingman on some of the dates we went on. And thank Kami he did! We were terrible at it," admitted Hizashi.
"Yes. I doubt I would've married Hitomi if not for his help. He always had a way with women".
"Brother, do you remember when I asked out that Uzumaki girl? Now that was a day I'll never forget".
"You really mustn't bring up such embarrassing matters brother. You'll ruin your reputation".
"It's among my son and nieces. I believe they can keep a secret".
Hanabi was restraining a giggle, imagining her uncle trying to ask out a girl. Neji and Hinata however were frozen. 'Uzumaki?'. It was Hinata who worked up the courage to ask.
"Father, who was this Uzumaki?"
Both Hiashi and Hizashi froze. 'Shit'. They both thought. They looked at each other knowing that if they didn't try to fix this now, chaos could ensue. It was Hiashi who came with an answer first.
"All three of you. This information mustn't leave this room, understand?". The table went silent. All three nodded their heads in understanding.
Hiashi continued. "When we were in school. An Uzumaki girl came to Konoha after her island was destroyed by enemy forces. Yes, she was the mother of your friend Naruto. However, not many knew her by her family name, so it must not leave this room".
Hizashi continued with an explanation of this demand. "Naruto Uzumaki's heritage is a secret for a reason. If it were to be leaked, he could face dangers that he has no hope of surviving. He will be told at a proper time, but he is not ready to take on his parent's burden. Do you understand?".
All three bowed their heads. It was commonly known that sometimes powerful ninja would separate themselves from loved ones so other villages couldn't take them as hostages. Only one question was going through their heads though, 'Who was this Uzumaki?'.
~_~:~_~
The next day, all of team seven arrived on time. Much to Kakashi's disappointment. Before they met with the client, Hinata had checked in on Naruto, making sure he packed everything he would need. Not trusting him to do it himself. She was thankful that Haku would be doing the same for Sasuke. Already, last month, Haku had to come and make Sasuke go home a few times. Otherwise, Sasuke would keep training until he passed out.
Of course this only happened on days he was with Kakashi though. Even Sasuke knew it was suicide to continue training after spending a day with Anko.
It was a good thing too. Naruto nearly left with only one extra set of clothes. Hinata shivered at how smelly he'd end up being at the end of the week. She quickly threw in some more, and on the way over to meet up with the rest of the team, bought an extra deodorant for him.
"I don't know whether to be honored or insulted that your buying me deodorant," said Naruto, taking a sniff of the deodorant before shrugging in approval and stuffing it in his bag.
"If I have to spend a week on the road, with little to no baths, I might as well try to make it as pleasant as possible. You'd be much more tolerable smelling like that".
"What's wrong with the deodorant I already have?"
"Naruto, that thing's on its last legs and the smell of chemicals is not very appealing. Take my word for it, spray deodorants are the absolute worst. Never get them again. Besides, old spice is much more appealing to smell".
"But it has 'old' in the name. I don't want to be old!"
"It's not being old, it's having class. You'll thank me for it".
Naruto sighed in defeat. 'Well if anyone would know what's classy it's Hinata. But why does it have to have 'old' in it? So uncool'.
#_#_#_#_#_#_#_#
He was proven wrong after Hinata told him to put some on already and found himself with a girl on each side asking questions. The Caravan that they had been given to escort was the travelling group that Hinata had practiced acting with. The two gossip girls quickly found that Sasuke wasn't going to talk, and that Naruto would answer their questions no matter how ridiculous they were.
Team Seven was divided so Hinata was in front, Naruto on one side of the caravan and Sasuke on the other, with Kakashi in back. Hinata tried to ignore Naruto by keeping her eyes on the path, but the frequent giggling made it incredibly difficult. 'Why can't they just leave him alone for a second?! And Naruto! How could you fall to such a level of superficialness? I thought you were better than that!'. Hinata silently brooded the entire time, trying and failing to distract herself by manipulating some water from her canteen. She would continually form weapons, or grim situations instead of flowers.
After setting up camp, Hinata found herself sitting on a log. Staring into the fire. She was startled when Sasuke took a seat next to her. "You okay?" he asked.
"Why wouldn't I be okay?" replied Hinata with a not so subtle hint of irritability in her voice.
Sasuke took a steadying breath before continuing. "Well, for starters, during the entire walk, you didn't pull out a single scroll to study up with. On top of that, it seemed you had trouble focusing on your water sculptures".
"So? I just… have a lot on my mind"
"Hmm… would one of those things be Naruto?"
Hinata used her Hyuga training to the fullest instinct trying to mask her emotions, but Sasuke had the Sharingan. So every micro movement she made, he saw. Even a Hyuga couldn't prevent their faces from completely betraying their emotions. A slight widen of the eyes, a flicker of shock, or the slight opening of the mouth as if to defend herself. Sasuke saw all of this within the milliseconds it occurred in. To anyone else watching, her face wouldn't have changed at all.
"No! Why would I be upset about that idiot?"
"Idiot? That's a new name for him. Anyways, don't worry about losing him"
"I never said I…"
"You didn't have to. I know how you feel. In the academy, when Naruto started befriending Kiba and Shino. I feared that he'd forget me. When we trained, I would forget to hold back, and hurt him. But he never cried out or complained. Anyone else would've been none the wiser, but I knew I was going too far…"
"And what changed?"
The corners of Sasuke's lips curved up. "One day, Shikamaru and Choji asked Naruto if he wanted to join them after school. That day, me and him had planned on getting lunch after school.. I had fully expected for him to leave me, but instead he told them that he had made plans to get lunch with his best friend… He never forgets us. To him, you're probably one of his most precious people. But also keep in mind he rarely ever gets any good attention from people. Let him enjoy this. Besides, knowing him he'll forget about what they were talking about. He's never been great with remembering things".
"Just like you're not good at dealing with mail?"
Sasuke's eyes went wide. "Who told you that?!"
Hinata smirked. "Let's just say that Naruto doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut. He does find himself fortunate to be so skilled in dealing with bills. Or at least, sending the bills off".
'Why would you tell anyone that Naruto! F*k! That's it, I'm asking Haku to help me with my personal problems. He'll keep it a secret! Naruto will tell Hinata just about anything at this point'. While Sasuke had thought these things, all that came out was, "He needs to learn to keep his mouth shut". Hinata's smirk became more prominent.
Hinata stood up and stretched a bit. "Well I'm off to bed. I wish you luck falling asleep. Naruto is already snoring".
Sasuke smirked, "his silencing jutsu doesn't only work on the castor. I can use it on him too".
"Ahh. Unfortunately we can't place it on our travellers. They're so noisy both during the day, and it seems during the night too".
Sasuke thought about it for a second. "You know I think Naruto may have a solution for you. Ask him tomorrow and he'll probably spend the entire walk working on it. Probably will make a seal or something".
Hinata considered for a second before shrugging and entering her tent. Leaving the Uchiha alone by the fire to his thoughts until he too went to sleep.
_)(_
The next morning Hinata took Sasuke's advice and when they made camp that evening, Naruto had a seal ready to go for Hinata. Apparently with it activated, she wouldn't hear anyone who didn't have an access seal he had made. Apparently the jutsu itself was simple, and converting it to seal form hadn't been too difficult.
The next day Hinata once again took the front. Despite what Sasuke had told her, she still didn't like hearing those girls flirt with Naruto, and for Naruto to be so friendly with them. She wished she could use his seal to block them out, but part of the reason she had been put in the front was to sense danger first. She would be significantly hindered if she could no longer hear. She had thought about using her Byakugan to make up for the lack of hearing, but using the Byakugan would result in temporary blindness, and Hinata couldn't afford to fall to that right now.
To try and distract herself, Hinata turned her thoughts to what her father and uncle had said at dinner. 'Who was Naruto's mother? And if she was so powerful, why haven't I heard about her? Did she know my mother? Were they friends? And Father and Uncle. Did they know Naruto's father? If they even know who he was that is. With a last name like Uzumaki there's no question about it, but that's his mother. There's no clue as to who his father might be. Maybe the Konoha Library will have something on it, they're supposed to record details on every ninja of Konoha right?'.
She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a snap from the forest. She activated her Byakugan and found the enemy. "Sasuke, Naruto! Four bandits in the forest in front of your. Kakashi-sensei! There's 7 behind you!". Hinata had 5 bandits to deal with herself.
The Caravan compacted themselves against their wagons while the shinobi took action. Naruto had wanted to use the rasengan, but after Hinata was so adamant that he should be careful with it, he opted to use poisons instead. With a quick flash, Naruto had launched three poison laced needles at his attackers. Dropping them almost instantly.
On the way back, Shizune had him practice throwing needles since they worked best with poison. While he wasn't as precise as Haku, the bandits were so big and slow it, didn't matter.
As soon as he finished, the two girls swooned over him. Naruto sheepishly chuckled, unsure of what to do.
Sasuke had thrown two kunai at each bandit. Hitting them in the legs and disabling them from moving without being in immense pain. Then chopping their necks to knock them out. Kakashi was not as merciful. Without hesitation, he killed the bandits. A kunai to pair with each of their hearts.
Hinata was not as fortunate. She quickly activated her Byakugan and engaged her attackers. DIspatching two within seconds by blocking a few chakra points. Then she turned to another two. She found herself dodging three swords all at once. After a few slashes she had to dodge, Hinata got in close and took both assailants out in one hit.
Looking at the final bandits, Hinata found him about to grab one of the fathers of the caravan to take as a hostage. Acting on instinct, Hinata easily pulled water into her taijutsu and sent a blade of water at the attacker. The bandit's hand had just gripped the man's shirt when he felt something pierce his chest. Looking down, he found a laser of water skewering through him, with blood leaching into it.
The bandit coughed up some blood and turned to look at Hinata. Hinata froze as she watched her first kill's life leave his eyes before falling to the ground. It was like someone had turned off the on switch and he had completely shut down. Hinata watched as the blood soaked into the back of his shirt, and pool on the ground.
Hinata didn't move. Still in shock, the memory of that man's life just leaving him like it was a leaf being blown by the wind replaying over and over in her mind. Hinata started to shake. Small vibrations at first, but then they became more violent and uncontrollable. She hugged her sides, eyes wide, and her face turning white with a grey tint of dread decorating it.
The man who she had saved tried to thank her, but quickly realized that she wasn't okay. He called for Kakashi, and within seconds all of team seven was there. They all realized what had happened. 'She's just had her first kill'.
"Hinata?" Naruto asked, seeing if was responsive at all at the moment.
Fear filled Hinata's eyes for a brief second before she pulled the Hyuga mask over herself once more. "F-fine…". She looked to the sky to see how much more light they had. "We st-still have a few m-more hours of d-daylight. L-Let's get m-moving". She then turned and started dragging the unconscious bodies off the trail. Kakashi pulled out a corpse sealing scroll to take care of the kill while Naruto and Sasuke assisted with pulling the unconscious bandits off the road. The Caravan was silent after that. Tension filled the air. For many of the caravan it was their first time witnessing death, and even they knew that Hinata was going through a lot right now.
Camp was made without a word, and dinner, eaten in silence. Afterwards, the Caravan took to their tents as did Sasuke. He had seen Naruto go through the same phase when they were younger. He could only imagine what Hinata was going through right now.
Kakashi had stayed out to try and ease the pain for his genin, but it seemed Naruto beat him to it. So instead he hid in the shadows.
Naruto took his seat next to Hinata, who was leaning against a tree, staring once more into the fire. "Hinata, I'm so sorry that you had to do what you did today. Please, let me help you".
Hinata continued to stare into the fire, hearing his words, but determined not to show weakness.
Naruto sighed, and he placed a silence and invisibility jutsu on Hinata. "No one will hear you, or see you. You are completely hidden from everyone. I'm going to go for a walk. If you need me, just follow the moon".
With that, Naruto walked away towards the moon. Kakashi took it upon himself to move to the other side of the camp, waiting for Hinata to finish. Keeping guard over her while she released her pain.
Once Naruto had disappeared in the forest, Hinata looked to herself to find her arms and legs invisible. She then tried to speak, but no words came out. Tears welled up in her eyes and Hinata finally opened the floodgates. She pulled her legs in to hug herself as she cried into her knees.
She stayed like that for about an hour before she found that her tear ducts ran out. A few minutes later, she looked around and found no one. She let out a shaky sigh and stood up. She shuffled towards the direction Naruto had left, still invisible and silent. For anyone who had been watching. They wouldn't have noticed anything but the imprints of feet on the ground.
Kakashi was hiding in the trees on the opposite side of camp, watching the imprints making their way over to Naruto. He followed her until she found him sitting by a stream. 'She'll be safe now'. He took his leave, sitting in a tree branch at camp for their return.
'You're vixen approaches'. Naruto thanked Kurama, not in the mood to fight with him about Hinata being his vixen.
Despite the warning, Naruto was still surprised when he felt Hinata touch his hand. He was startled a little, quickly turning his attention towards Hinata after. He felt around, finding her shoulders and then deactivated the jutsus.
Naruto was met with a sight that he never wanted to see again. Hinata's eyes were red along with her nose. Tears clinging to her face and she lightly shook. Her legs softly quivering, bent and knees buckling towards each other below her. Her arms hugging herself like she was cold.
Naruto's heart pained at the sight. Without a word, he pulled her into his arms. Hinata calmed at his embrace, his warmth. Eventually, they ended up sitting down, Hinata leaning into his embrace. Softly, Hinata asked "Naruto, who was your first kill?".
Naruto was taken by surprise, but knew why she'd want to know. "Well, it was when I was about 10. I had been walking in the forest when I came across a band of hunters. They weren't from Konoha, but they lived in a village close enough to know about the Nine Tailed fox demon child, and what I looked like".
Naruto took a breath to calm himself. "And, they thought that I'd be fun to hunt. So they did. I ran of course, but these men were smart, and cornered me in a cave… While his buddies came running over, the hunter guarding me decided to get the glory for himself and shot at me and…"
A silent tear escaped Naruto's eye. "...and I attacked him. I dodged the arrow and used a blunt kunai I had to stab him…".
"Only after I had stabbed him did I realize what I had done. I ran back to Konoha faster than I thought possible and went to Sasuke's. He let me cry it out. Soaking his pillows, and all that fancy stuff of his. And the next morning, he hugged me. He accepted me despite my crimes".
Hinata found some comfort in the story, but also many concerns. "Naruto, why didn't you flinch when you killed that man in wave country?".
Naruto hesitated to continue. "We-... Well, later that year, I had gone back into the forest. And the same band of hunters found me again, but this time, it wasn't a game. They were out to kill me, and there was no escaping it… Once again they cornered me, but this time… I didn't wait for them to attack first. This time, I took the offensive first and used one of their arrows to stab one and then stole a knife from him… After that… I went to each and every man there, 6 of them, and killed them. Each time, it became easier and easier to perform the action, but each death added to the guilt I felt. And it's the guilt you're probably feeling too. The guilt of taking someone from their family".
Hinata didn't say anything. Only nodding her head to confirm his assumption.
"That guilt will unfortunately never go away. It is your burden to bear. However, that doesn't mean you have to bear it alone. I will always be there to help you Hinata".
If Hinata had any more tears left, they'd find themselves in use right now, but this time it was not out of grief, but comfort. Hinata may have a family who she loves, but only her mother had provided her solace when she cried. Now, it was Naruto who brought light to her darkest moments. As she sat in Naruto's embrace, she eventually fell asleep. Her head resting on his shoulder.
After about 20 minutes, Naruto thought it was safe to move her. He started by lowering her to the ground to lay down, then moving his arms to be under her back and legs. He then slowly started to rise, making a delicate transition from moving Hinata from the ground to his arms. With that done, he just walked back to camp.
Kakashi sighed with relief when he saw their return. Naruto placed Hinata in her tent and then left for his own. Kakashi made a clone and then left to find his own tent to rest for the night in. One could feel the air around them relax, as if letting out a sigh of relief.
(*)(*)(*)(*)
The Caravan arrived in wind country 3 days later. They had stopped in a small village near the border, and the Caravan wasted no time setting up shop. Within 20 minutes they were open for business.
Hinata used some of her money to get herself a hotel room for the night, wanting to have a break from sleeping on the ground. Naruto and Kakashi couldn't afford a hotel room at the moment. Sasuke just chose to join them, despite having enough money to afford a room in the finest Hotel in town.
The genin of team seven took the night to explore the town. Sasuke eventually leaving Hinata and Naruto to try out a Dango shop. The two continued to walk down the street, looking at the shops.
"See any god ramen shops?" asked Naruto.
"There's other food in the world besides ramen you know".
"Well, what would you like to eat?"
Hinata took a look at the street vendors once more, "How about some Takoyaki?".
"Takoyaki? What's that?"
"You've never had Takoyaki before? It's the little fried octopus balls that street vendors serve".
"I've only ever bought something from a street vendor once, so I don't know what they are?"
Hinata thought about inquiring as to why he only bought from a street vendor once, but quickly remembered that if he bought something from anywhere, that shop would probably be ignored by people. The only reason Ichiraku stayed in business was because of how good their food is.
"Well. Let's change that. Don't worry about money. I'll pay for most of it, and besides, street food tends to be pretty inexpensive".
"Wait, Hinata. You come from a prestigious family who looks down on the entire village. Why do you know so much about street food?"
"We still go to festivals. And it's considered rude to bring your own food to eat, so we're allowed to eat street food"
Naruto had an "ah ha" moment as Hinata explained. "Yeah that would make sense".
"Yes, now. To the Takoyaki. You can't have street food without Takoyaki". Hinata led him towards the nearest stall and within seconds, they had a small tray of it. Hinata ate one right away, a content look on her face. Naruto shrugged after eating his.
"Ramen's better," he said. Hinata rolled her eyes. The two continued walking from stall to stall. Eventually stopping at a sit down tea shop to rest. Naruto excused himself to use the bathroom, leaving Hinata to wait for him at the table.
After a few minutes, Hinata started to get worried. She went to investigate, wondering what was taking Naruto so long. What she found was Naruto back up against a wall with the two girls from the Caravan before him wearing clothes that had a cloth to skin ratio of 4 to 1.(Imagine what you will).
Hinata hid around the corner, listening to their conversation.
"Sooo, Naruto. We've made it to town. Want to have some fun with us?" one said.
"Yeah! All we've done is talk these past for days. We were hoping for something more… intimate," continued the other. The two then pushed closer to Naruto, practically shoving their breasts in his face.
Hinata grew angry at the entire situation, and was about to go and tell them off when Naruto started talking.
"Sorry Ladies. But I've already made plans to walk around town with my friend. Your offer is quite...um… something. But I'm really not interested in that. If you'd please excuse me I have to get back before my friend gets mad". He then ducked under an arm and escaped their confines. But these two were persistent.
"Wait! You can't just leave us like that... Soo… unsatisfied". Now the two latched onto an arm each. Naruto was starting to turn red, his savoir was Hinata.
"Well if you wish to be satisfied go prey on some other boy in town. At the moment, this one is with me". The two were surprised to see her momentarily, but only for a moment. The next second they both had their eyes narrowed at Hinata, as if challenging her. Hinata met their glare with her own. After a few seconds the two backed down and left.
"Alright white eyes. We'll leave. You can enjoy your little date with Naruto, but just know, we've got a friend back in Konoha, and if you don't watch yourself, she'll steal him from you before you can blink".
Hinata internally smirked at the irony of the situation. See watched the two strut away, sass in their step. Naruto had tried to shrink himself when Hinata had arrived on the scene. He didn't know why but it felt like he had just witnessed two wolves fight over territory.
When the two were out of sight, Hinata turned back towards Naruto, shadow covering her eyes. Naruto started to panic. "Hinata. It's not what you think. They surprised me! I didn't want to go with them. I was trying to get back to you".
"Would you have gone if I hadn't shown up?"
"What? No! I may not like being mean to people, but you are my friend! I'm not going to just up and leave you!". Hinata felt Sasuke's words ring true as Naruto said this. She now felt embarrassed about how jealous she had been on the trip. "Besides,"" Naruto continued, "I'm not into that sort of thing. I would've used a substitution jutsu to get away the first chance I got". He finished it off with a sheepish smile, hoping it would satisfy Hinata for an answer.
'And what type of thing are you into?' Hinata thought. Realizing what she was thinking, Hinata turned a light shade of pink. She turned to face away from Naruto before he could take notice. "Well… um… what should we do now?".
Naruto gladly went with the change of topic. "Hmm. Well we've basically tried all the food. Maybe look at the shops". Hinata agreed to the idea, looking forward to leaving that encounter behind.
The two meandered around the town. Looking through windows, and inspecting the wares of open air shops.
Hinata enjoying the beautiful dresses and kimonos, while Naruto looked at the cool gadgets or just trailing behind Hinata. After about the third shop, something caught Naruto's eye. A thick black bracelet that had a beautiful yin and yang symbol on it. Koi fish making up the yin and yang. Yang made of a white crystal, and the Yin being made of a black stone.
When Hinata wasn't looking, he slipped away and asked the shop owner about it. Apparently it was made of desert quartz and basalt. Since the materials weren't all that rare, the price was crazy high, but the craftsmanship did put it at a high price for Naruto. Since he wasn't even in Fire Country at the moment, Naruto decided to take a risk. He bargained with the shop owner, and a good thing too. While the bracelet still came at a large price compared to Naruto's gama-chan, it wasn't quite as devastating as if he had bought it at full price.
When he returned to Hinata, she asked where he had been. "I went over to that shop over there and got you a bracelet!". Hinata turned pink hearing that Naruto had gotten her a piece of jewelry. Naruto revealed the bracelet, letting Hinata marvel at the beauty of it. She delicately took it from his hands to inspect it further.
"Naruto this is beautiful. Although, it's not a bracelet". Naruto face faulted.
"WHAT?! Then what is it?!".
"It's a choker," Hinata explained.
Naruto's eyes went wide in shock, "That's used to choke people?!".
"No, it's not used to choke people! It's called a choker because it fits around your neck!"
. . . .
"Ooohhhh. That makes more sense". Hinata facepalmed at his antics. "Well will it fit you?".
Hinata shrugged and tried it on, finding a bit of a gap between her neck and the choker. "Seems to be a bit big, but I'm sure it will fit perfectly within a year or two". Naruto flopped, feeling like a failure for not getting one that fit her. "Why did you get this for me Naruto?" Hinata asked, unsure of what she wished to hear for an answer.
"Well, you're always helping me get clothes and stuff. So to thank you I thought that would be a nice gift". Naruto wore a sheepish smile with a hand behind his head. Hinata felt a sudden urge to slam her lips onto his own, but quickly became embarrassed at the thought and turned red. "Shoot! Do you not like it? Did I do something wrong?" Naruto asked, in fear that he had made Hinata raging mad.
"No, no. I'm not mad. Thank you Naruto. It was very nice of you to do that. Although you really didn't have to buy me something. I don't mind helping you with clothes shopping". 'Honestly, I prefer it because I can guarantee that he doesn't go off and pick something that'd put Gai Sensei's lack of fashion to shame'.
"I wanted to buy it for you Hinata. I thought it would make you happy". Hinata froze for a second.
'He wanted to get this for me?'. Hinata felt her heart beat faster, and threaten to make her faint. Acting fast, Hinata decided it was time to call it a day, seeing that the sun had nearly fully set. " W-well it's getting l-late! We-We better get ready for t-tomorrow right? S-see you th-then!". Hinata then turned in the direction of her hotel and started walking.
"Yeah!... See you tomorrow Hinata!" Naruto shouted, waving an arm in a large ark over his head. 'Man girls are weird. But I'm pretty sure that Hinata's happy. I think'. 'Yes she's happy you idiot!'. 'Well how am I supposed to know?! It's not like I can read her mind!'. 'Neither can I brat, it's called reading a person!'. 'Well how do I do that?! It's not like I was ever taught about it!'. 'It's called you actually give thought to a situation you little…'.
The two continued to argue until Naruto reached camp. By that time Kurama had gotten fed up with Naruto and closed himself off from Naruto, ending the conversation. Naruto grumbled something about pesky foxes before entering his tent and going to bed.
_)(_)(_)(_)(_)(_
The next day, team seven was met with the hot aridness of the desert in full force. They were lucky to have Hinata with them though. While there wasn't much, Hinata was able to pull out some water from the air for them to drink. Around noon, when they had reached the forest again, Naruto had remembered that Sasuke had disappeared yesterday to check out a dango shop. "Hey Sasuke. That Dango shop from yesterday. Was it any good?".
A light smile dawned Sasuke's face as he remembered it. "Yeah it was good! And, I got to learn from the master chief. Now I know what I was missing! The sauce! I've been focusing too much on the actual Dango, and forgot about the sauce!". Sasuke then went into a full explanation of the Dango shops sauces and how his sauces contrasted. Naruto half listened to his lecture, catching the main idea of it, but not the specific amounts of ingredients or the specific names of those ingredients either.
Kakashi didn't listen, diving into his book once again to lose himself in a world of fantasy. Hinata didn't listen either, finding herself more and more disgusted with how dirty she was. It had been about a week since any of them had showered, and while she doubted Kakashi would actually stop early to do so, Hinata was making plans to take a bath or shower at some point today.
She was successful in her plan later that night. She made sure to get the second watch, that way she could be sure everyone would be asleep. Once Kakashi entered his tent, she made a clone and activated her Byakugan to find a body of water. The closest one was a small pond that would be perfect.
Arriving at the pond, Hinata checked once again with her Byakugan to make sure no one was around or awake. Once she was sure she'd have total privacy, she stripped and delicately walked into the water, embracing the cool shock it delivered with relief.
Once she finished cleaning herself, Hinata decided that it would be okay to enjoy herself a bit. Using chakra to stand on top of the water, she started to dance with a series of spins and twists. Allowing water to raise around her and join her in her dance of beauty.
Unfortunately, Naruto felt the call of nature and woke up. Acting quick to avoid disaster and embarrassment. Within a few seconds he had found a suitable location to find relief. He had planned on just returning to camp after, but now that his mind wasn't in panic mode, he started taking in his surroundings. While nothing looked unusual, he did hear some splashing. Curious, he decided to investigate.
In case it was a potentially dangerous animal, Naruto put the invisibility and silence jutsu upon himself. After a few minutes of following the noise, he came across a small pond. A cloud had covered the moon so he couldn't see anything at the moment, but he could hear the splashing. And now that he was closer, he noticed that it repeated. 'What? What type of animal makes music by splashing in water?'. He found himself on a small ledge.
Naruto's questions were answered when the moon peeked out of the clouds once more. What he saw was a goddess. A woman of beauty dancing on top of the water as if hovering above it. The water danced with her, swirling around her body as droplets, as if it was being held there by a field of gravity. With the moon being the only light, her features were hidden by shadow, but it was evident of how her skin seemed to softly glow in the moonlight.
Naruto accidentally moved forward to try and see her face, but the ground below him crumbled under his weight. He may have been invisible and silent, but that didn't stop the racket the stones made. Naruto tried to recover as quickly as he could, cancelling his silence jutsu. "Sorry. I didn't mean to, I just…". Naruto didn't finish his explanation because when he got back up, the woman was gone. "She was beautiful…" Naruto whispered.
Naruto returned to camp to find a red faced Hinata. "You okay Hinata?".
"Yep," she squeaked.
"Well okay… I'm going to get back to sleep".
"Okay," Hinata replied in a small, rushed voice. Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion, but shrugged it off and entered his tent to enjoy some more sleep.
(_][][][][_)
To Hinata's benefit, the rest of the trip was very, uneventful. Although, she struggled to look Naruto in the face after that night at the pond. Thankfully for her, Naruto kept quiet. Whether it was because she was there, or he didn't want to be called a pervert, she didn't know.
Kakashi and Naruto were thankful to receive their payment when they returned, although Kakashi really didn't need it. He just refused to use any money from his ANBU years. As promised, Kakashi took Shizune on a tour of the village, after cleaning himself up, that is. While he was a guy, and had never dated, even he knew that it would not have been a good time if he showed Shizune around the village smelling of BO. Hinata and Sasuke took the day off, one excited to try to make the perfect dango again, and the other looking forward to some rest and relaxation. Along with a hot bath with soap in the privacy of her own home.
Naruto however, needed more money and took a D-rank mission to get a bit of each cash for any damage done to his house and also to help pay off his tab at Ichiraku. He owed Teuchi a month's worth of full time work and he'd only been able to get 3 days of full time work accomplished.
#=#
When Hinata returned home, she was greeted by her father and uncle. "Hinata. I take it the mission went well?" Hiashi asked.
"Yes, father"
"Any incidents? I know Kakashi may be a praised jounin in Konoha, but he often doesn't take things too seriously. And considering how your first mission outside the village went..."
All of the "incidents" of the past week flashed through Hinata's head. She looked back to her father, thinking about telling him about her first kill. 'No. He may love his family, but he knows very little in empathy'. "No. No incidents".
Hiashi and Hizashi gave each other a skeptical look, their eyebrows barely moving, but just enough to make out the emotion. Hinata bowed and started towards her room.
"Hinata," Hiashi called. Hinata stopped in her tracks, hoping it wasn't bad news.
"Where did you get that thing around your neck?"
Hinata froze. 'Oh Kami. The choker…'. "I found it at a store. I thought it looked nice". Hiashi's eyes stared into Hinata's, searching for the truth. But Hinata remained strong and met his stare with one of her own. Eventually, Hiashi dropped his stare.
"It looks quite nice. 'A fine purchase,' as your mother would say".
With that, Hiashi walked away. His brother followed, however suspicious of how Hinata came to have the choker. His protective instincts kicking in. Once out of ear shot he whispered, "It's a boy isn't it?".
Hiashi bowed his head in disappointment, "Yes, it is".
"First Neji and now Hinata? We are losing our children".
"I know brother… but it was bound to happen"
"But why must it be this quickly? They're still only children".
Hiashi sighed, "I don't know brother. I don't know. Fortunately for Neji, Tenten is well respected, and he's part of the branch family. While I may hate the segregation of this clan, that is one of the perks of being part of the branch. Unfortunately, we do not know who this boy who gave Hinata the choker is".
"Perhaps it was just a boy from the village she visited who gave it to her?"
"Unlikely, although I will choose to remain hopeful that it was. She's nearing marrying age. As much as it pains me to say it, she will not have the freedom I did when choosing a spouse. She will be paired up with suitors against her will. I fear making any romantic connections will bring her pain when it happens".
"Can't you change that brother?"
"I wish. Father and the other elders have been shaving away my control over the years. I wish I could fight back, but I do not have the courage, or wit of Hitomi. For now, all I can do is have the final say of who will be Hinata's suitor. The elders provide the selection however".
Hizashi went silent, deep in thought about this predicament. "Brother… If this boy does live in Konoha. Assuming he's a shinobi, would it be possible to gain his entree as a suitor based on skill?".
Hiashi was confused as to what his brother was thinking, but went along with it anyways. Curious as to where it was going. "Potentially. But he'd have to be of a prestigious clan, or of greater wealth. On top of that, he'd need the favor of a suitor. And I doubt we can achieve that".
Hizashi processed this information, a fraction of a smirk forming on his face. "If we are able to identify this boy. I believe I can provide an elder to select him. However, you will need to provide his motivation to become powerful both physically and politically".
Hiashi reflected his brother's smirk. "If you can provide an elder. I will do what I can. However, first we must find who this boy is. Without that knowledge, your plan is useless".
Hizashi's smirk became more prominent, surprising Hiashi at how much emotion he was showing. "I don't believe that'll be too hard. With Neji's help, or more importantly, Tenten's. I think we'll be able to find out who this boy is. The only problem is whether or not he'll commit to Hinata".
"Yes… That will be a problem. However, that should come with time if she continues to fraternize with him. For now, we wait. In the meantime, perhaps we can help Neji in his affairs and learn home to be of aid in the future".
"Yes! But how will we go about doing that?"
Hiashi went quiet. Trying to think of an answer. "I'm not sure. We'll learn along the way. Maybe Minato can be of help to us once more with the wisdom he gave us".
"It seems we really are helpless when it comes to women," Hizashi sighed.
"It took you 41 years to realize that?" Hiashi replied. The two shared a smile of laughter. This was the most emotion either of them had shown in many years. They had missed the feeling.
(#$_$#)
And once more, we come to the end. I hope it wasn't too fast. I know I just packed an entire mission with lots of plot points in it into one chapter so just tell me if it was too much. As always. I'll take suggestions for what I should include for jutsu. I have the idea of Godspeed I think it was from the anime HunterxHunter. But other than that. I don't have much. I have gotten a request for Sasuke and Hinata to summon. So that will definitely be on the bucket list, however their summons probably aren't going to be on toad summon level. For those of you waiting for the jump and that madness, you're going to be waiting a bit more. I want to spend another like 4-5 chapters in this era before dealing with the jump. I want to show that my characters have developed differently. It's been a while since I've uploaded to my other story, so I'm also going to start on that. I apologize in advance if my uploads start coming in a bit late. See you next time!