Just a few disclaimers; this is rated M for later content. Since this is a fictional Country I am establishing the customs to be a blend of the Western/Eastern cultures that we are familiar with. I live in Canada, so my worldview/perspective is likely to be shaped by that. I don't own Naruto.
p.s I am going to ignore Kakashi's problems with punctuality in this story :p
Chapter 1
Ages - Hinata 20 and Kakashi 29
Hatake Kakashi tucked the Icha Icha Paradise novel into the inside pocket of his jacket as he stepped out of his apartment. It was a beautiful fall day, the air was crisp, and it was early enough that Konoha was still quiet. Most people had yet to wake up and start their days. But unfortunately, he didn't share the same luxury as most people. He quickened his pace leaping onto the roof of a nearby building heading towards the Hokage tower wondering why he had been summoned.
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Hinata muffled a yawn and slowly closed the gate behind her as she left the Hyuga compound. She loved the feel of the brisk morning air on her face. It was colder than usual for a Saturday morning but the change from Summer to Autumn had started in Konoha already. The leaves were transforming into an array of colours and filled the landscape with a pallet of yellow, orange, red and browns.
At 20, Hinata was a Jounin now and she was proud of the skills she had developed. When she was younger she'd been crippled with intense shyness and self-doubt. Over time she had begun to lose that, but once in a while those old feelings of insecurity still creeped up on her. Hinata quickened her pace and wrapped the blush pink scarf around herself more securely as she took off towards the Hokage tower.
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"Hinata, Kakashi. Thank you for coming" Tsunade said firmly as she stood up from behind her desk and put down the dosier she was holding.
Kakashi nodded at the Hokage and snuck a quick look at the young woman standing next to him. As he assessed her, the scene from earlier in the waiting room played through his mind.
Fb-
He'd been surprised when Hinata showed up in the waiting room and proceeded to take a seat. Granted she was a Jounin now, but she was still quite inexperienced in the field comparatively. He had assumed whatever Tsunade wanted to talk to him about had been either an S-ranked mission or a confidential matter of national importance… he smiled behind his mask acknowledging his own arrogance.
"Morning Hinata-san" Kakashi spoke up. The girl bowed her head and muttered a reply back. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched her.
Over the years he had gotten the chance to observe Hinata greatly due to the monumental crush she had on his student Naruto. Since she'd been young, she had stalked Naruto around Konoha whenever she had the chance. Naruto and Sakura never noticed their tail, but Kakashi and Sasuke had always picked up on it. Kakashi hadn't put a stop to her antics because he judged them to be harmless.
He wasn't sure why she liked Naruto so much. Naruto hadn't done anything to encourage her that he knew of... if anything he was oblivious to her feelings. But she had relentlessly liked him all this time anyway. It was pathetic in some light, but Kakashi viewed it as impressive because of the single minded commitment.
In terms of personality the best way to describe Hinata was kind and meek. She barely spoke in an octave that was easy to register. She stayed out of the spotlight and most of the time she tended to be forgettable. Unfortunate for her personal life perhaps, but that was an excellent attribute to have as a spy. The Great Ninja war ended about 2 years ago and he hadn't seen much of Hinata since then. What had she been up to these last two years?… perhaps she had changed he thought as he assessed her from head to toe. Her hair was still long, midnight blue and shiny, falling down to her waist. She had a bulky sweater on with a large scarf wrapped around her face making it difficult to note much of anything significant about her.
Well... at least her style of dressing was still the same. And as per her usual habit she had her eyes downcast and hands clasped. He wondered if this was to suppress her nervous habit of poking her fingers together. As the seconds trickled by and she didn't engage in talking he figured the conversation was going to be slim. So he pulled the Icha Icha Paradise novel out of his breast pocket and began to read.
Hinata noticing the cover turned a satisfactory bright orange colour.
Perfect.
He pretended not to notice and kept on reading anyway.
End of fb
Kakashi snapped himself out of his reverie. "What can we help you with Hokage-sama?" He asked without further ado.
Tsunade nodded and got straight to the point. "I have a mission for you."
He felt his eyebrow go up almost despite himself. A mission? With Hinata?
His confusion was not lost on the Hokage. Kakashi was very skilled, he was in fact second in command after her to take over as Hokage. For a Shinobi of his experience and prestige being asked to go on a mission with Hinata seemed like a mismatch of skill.
"A mission? Kakashi-sensei and I!?" Hinata squeaked in surprise.
"Yes." Tsunade continued firmly, "I have a highly sensitive mission that needs attending to in the Land of the Mist. Multiple trade agreements between our nations are up for renewal and I won't be able to attend the negotiations myself due to other priorities. Therefore I am sending the next in command as you Kakashi. And Hinata, you are accompanying because we require a ninja with enhanced espionage abilities to support."
"Hai Tsunade-sama" Hinata murmured while still not understanding why she had been picked for this mission.
Kakashi was giving Tsunade a stony look as he pulled out a seat and sat down. Hinata and Tsunade followed suit.
"Yes well… as you both may have gathered this is not just a simple trade negotiation. There is another classified mission hidden within." Hinata and Kakashi snapped to attention at once, glancing at each other curiously.
"We have started to pick up intel over the last few months of a rebellion brewing in Kirigakure. Not just against their own village but against the whole Shinobi nation. Mei-Terumi had spoken to me in private about it and requested help. But It's important that you understand that this mission has to be top secret from everyone except the mission team. We have reason to believe that members of the Mizukage's administration as well as some of the nobility of the country may be involved, so we can't be too careful."
Hinata felt the hairs on her arm stand up as she listened to this. A revolt against the Shinobi nation?!
"Understood Hokage-sama, I am guessing you assigned both of us to this mission because we are supposed to be traveling under a cover?" Kakashi asked dryly.
Tsunade turned a light pink color which was very unusual for her.
"It's hard to put one over you Kakashi" she scowled at the blonde man and then turned to Hinata to explain, "It's common knowledge when undertaking missions of this nature it helps to have a cover story for backup and to allow you both to have a bit more freedom to work. Because of that Hinata... for this mission you and Kakashi will be posing as a couple."
Hinata gasped and turned to Kakashi-sensei who looked frustratingly calm, as usual. He continuing to give the Hokage a measured glance.
"Why her?" he asked in a clipped voice after a pause.
"Right…" the Hokage hesitated awkwardly, "Well Hinata is ideal for this mission for the obvious reasons of having a dojutsu that is specifically designed for espionage" Tsunade smiled, "But another reason is that we need someone who is not well known in Kirigakure. Kakashi… you are notoriously well known everywhere. Your reputation as a bachelor precedes you. For this to be believable you need to be paired with an unknown girl, so that your backstory will be left up to speculation."
"Hinata comes from a prestigious clan, no one will believe I am simply dating her", he pointed out the obvious.
"That is why you two will pose as an engaged couple...".
The room descended into silence after that. Kakashi gave Tsunade a look raising his eyebrow and then turned to the girl next to him who seemed to be holding her breath.
"Breath Hinata" he reminded her gently.
She gulped in a breath looking at him with huge eyes reminding him of a child. He sighed and looked to Tsunade who was reading his expression and concerns accurately.
"We couldn't pair you with an older Kunoichi, they are all well known in Kiri due to the missions they have undertaken there. They all have various relationships in that jurisdiction that complicates things. Also for you to give up your bachelor ways you would need a girl that is… different, like Hinata-chan here." the older woman gave Hinata a bright smile. "Sakura would have also been a good choice but her skill set is not espionage, and it's less… subtle" Tsunade said simply with only a small hint of disappointment in her voice.
Kakashi was disappointed as well. Sakura would have been an ideal choice. He could have gotten along with her easier, they were already comfortable with each other and even though Sakura was the same age as Hinata, she was mature and capable of pulling off a cover story of this nature. He didn't stop to think whether he was being unfair in his assessment since he didn't know Hinata too well.
"You will of course have a few Anbu escorts as part of your team, and you leave in 3 days. Any further questions?" Tsunade asked now reverting back to a serious tone.
"Understood Hokage-sama" they replied in unison.
Tsunade hmm'ed in satisfaction as she waved them away with Shizune to be further briefed on the mission.
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Two hours later, as Hinata made her way back to the Hyuga compound, the Hokage's words kept ringing in her ears.
Her combat skills have improved drastically over the last six years. This combined with her natural chakra control and recent training in medicine made Hinata quite a versatile partner. She just hadn't gone on any mission without her team until now.
One thing Hinata had zero experience with however was seduction... and relationships. As you go up the Ninja hierarchy it became necessary that women and men were able to tap into a more unique skill set to complete missions. Sometimes it became necessary to seduce your marks, however as far as she knew that was a very rare outcome. Posing as couples though was a more common way of blending in… but what made this particular mission difficult for her was that it was with Kakashi-sensei!
She shuffled her feet on the dirt in frustration and picked up some wildflowers neatly arranging them into an aesthetically pleasing bouquet. But her thoughts kept on racing.
She had not spent a lot of time with the copy ninja over the years but he was an incredibly self assured person. His personality was a confusing mix that she did not know much about. He had a very strong sarcastic side… but he went around publicly reading romance novels? It was just so bizarre.
But objectively speaking... he was very handsome (what you could see of him at least) and well built. She knew he was a ninja prodigy. His skills and experience surpassed hers in ten fold. He was a favourite in line to be the next Hokage, his espionage skills were exceptional, not to mention his combat skills. He was a great diplomat, leader and teacher and to top that off he had been an ANBU in the past.
Given all this it was no surprise that he was exceptionally popular with the female population. He didn't seem to go out of his way to attract anyone's attention, however his mask and general air of mystery had garnered him his own fan club within Konoha. She softly groaned and covered her face at having to pretend he was her lover. What did lovers even act like... this was going to be so embarrassing and he was nearly 10 years older than her!
She shook her head and tried to snap out of it. She had a job to do here. This was a highly sensitive mission and there was a lot at stake. A few hours (maybe more than a few) of embarrassment was worth it if it meant stopping a rebellion. With her heart set she quickened her pace heading home, she wanted to review these briefing documents to prepare for the summit. She hadn't been part of any trade negotiations before either, this was all uncharted territory!
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3 days later.
Kakashi was waiting at the Konoha gates at exactly 3:45 AM. Since this was an espionage mission, hidden in the guise of a diplomatic one they had the luxury of packing for an extended stay and traveling at a bit more of a leisurely pace. Plus this was supposed to be some kind of lovers get away for himself and Hinata. Sighing at that thought he rubbed his head discreetly.
He had done these types of missions loads of times, typically with much more experienced Kunoichi. He didn't have the time, patience nor inclination to guide an inexperienced girl into her first taste of intimacy. He had been many things over the years but he had never stolen anyone's innocence before. Shit… he thought in exasperation, this left a bad taste in his mouth.
He tilted his head in alertness as the tree leaves gently rustled and a woman landed next to him quietly. Hinata had knelt down with the impact of her landing and she softly got up. He felt his eyebrow hike up as he took her in. It had been over four years since he'd observed Hinata this closely and he was surprised by what he saw.
In her youth she had worn extremely baggy clothing that made her look like a potato. A cute potato but a potato nonetheless. Logically being a Shinobi and following a strict training regime he knew that all Kunoichi were fit, but the way Hinata dressed in the past made it easy to forget that. Today she was wearing a long form fitting black pant along with a garter strapped to her right thigh. There was an assortment of kunai attached. Her pants were secured by a belt and as he raised his eyes he noticed that she was wearing a long sleeved black shirt tucked into her pants, with a backpack secured.
What surprised him though were her curves. Hinata had to be one of the most happily proportioned women he had seen in a long time.
His gaze did not linger on her in any particular place. He was able to assess her figure easily with a discrete look and he brought his gaze back on to her face. Her hair was secured on top of her head with a few loose strands framing her face and her lavender eyes were luminescent, framed by a thick fringe of lashes. To top it all off her skin glowed! All this made her look like a very dangerous and otherworldly woman. He hadn't thought of Hyuga women as particularly attractive before, with their translucent eyes and all, but today at this very moment he stared at Hinata feeling like she was math equation he couldn't solve.
Hinata looked puzzled at the older man. He was staring at her face with a lingering silence.
"Ohaiyo Kakashi-sensei" she said in a quietly concerned voice.
The slightly blank nature of his eyes flickered and he cleared his throat, "Ohaiyo Hinata-san" he nodded and turned to the rest of the group who had also arrived by now. They gathered in a circle while he briefed the team on the travel schedule for the day. They decided that two of the Anbu would go ahead of them to scout the trail and Kakashi and Hinata would follow a few paces behind in the middle of the formation, and the other two Anbu would follow behind on the rear.
The journey to the Hidden Mist should take them a week travelling at this pace and it should be fairly uneventful.
"Let's do our best," Kakashi said to the team.
"Hai" the group echoed the sentiment as the first two Anbu took to the trees.
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