A/N: I hope you like the first part of the mission arc. The next update may be a little longer than my usual two week cycle. I have some real-life stuff popping its ugly head up and it is starting to distract me away from my writing time.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to the Naruto brand in any way. I am just a humble fan with a writing obsession.
A few days after leaving the Leaf Village Naruto, along with Tenten and her team, are looking at the ocean on the eastern edge of the Land of Fire. They are standing on the docks waiting for the ships from the Land of Lightning to come in with the morning tide. Their mission is to escort some dignitaries from the Land of Lightning to the Land of Fire capitol for an audience with the Fire Daimyo.
Naruto is leaning against the rail staring out at the shimmering water, lost somewhere deep in his own thoughts. Tenten who has known Naruto most of their lives was the only one who really understood how truly odd he was behaving. He had been quiet for the last couple of days, since they had that near argument that first night, and had really only spoken when directly asked a question. She had felt the enormous buildup of chakra during that night and recognized it to be Naruto's rasengan and had been about to investigate when she felt it suddenly fade away instead of being released as an attack. She had then heard the sound of Naruto and Shimata talking quietly without any hint of alarm so she had went back to sleep, feeling secure that if there were any problems Naruto's loud nature would awaken her instantly.
The next morning they had all woke to the smell of food and came out of their tent to find Naruto making breakfast. He had given them a quick smile as they came up to see the rice porridge he had made along with thick slices of bacon on bamboo skewers sizzling near the flames. It was just as they sat down to eat that Hanabi spoke up that it was her turn to be on morning watch and make breakfast. Naruto did not look up from his bowl he just took a few more spoonful's of the porridge slowly into his mouth before he finally responded. "Yeah, I am sorry about that. The stars were really nice last night and the dawn was just so amazing that I really lost track of time. Since I was going to have to be awake in a couple of hours anyways I just decided to stay up and fix breakfast for everyone. I know it's not ramen, but I hope you like what I made anyways." He had then looked up with a closed-eyed grin and then resumed eating.
When Tenten had asked him about how she had sensed what felt like his rasengan during the night he had just chuckled and apologized. "I went out to pee last night and kicked something while out there in the dark. I had forgotten to bring a light with me so I used a rasengan to see what it was in the leaves. I guess that was kind of overkill. I am sorry if that woke you up." He had laughed again but there had been no mirth in his voice.
"So what was it?" Hanabi had asked and when Naruto looked up at her, his face went pale for a moment like he had seen a ghost. He then shook his head and swallowed before looking back down into his bowl and answered quietly. "It was just some funny shaped rock, nothing special really."
Afterwards while the girls had went to a nearby stream to clean the breakfast dishes Naruto had asked Shimata to help him with taking down his tent. They spoke quietly over some subject and abruptly stopped whenever she or one of the girls had come too close. Later when she had ask Shimata what they were talking so quietly about he shrugged and said he was asking about the rasengan, but had avoided eye contact with her as if hiding some secret.
The rest of that day and the one that followed were odd, at least where Naruto was concerned. He barely spoke to anyone, except when directly spoken to, and just walked with his head slightly down. From time-to-time Tenten had noticed his head and lips moving as if he was having a conversation with someone. She guessed that he might have been talking to the Kyubi and was not sure which thought really bothered her the most, that he was talking to himself or the biju that he held inside his body. She knew that the two of them had made friends, but the fearsome stories told to her in her childhood about the Kyubi who attacked the village were still hard to overcome at times.
Hanabi had walked nearby watching Naruto and occasionally brought him out of his funk a little by asking him questions. He had been polite and answered each one, but had barely looked the girl in the face when he had answered each one. The odd part was that anytime Hanabi had walked away from him to do anything his eyes had followed her as if he was watching over her, almost protectively.
Now as the ship from the Land of Lightning was getting closer Naruto and Tenten could spot the familiar faces of Team Samui standing along the rail. Once the ship is fully docked the members of Team Samui disembark and Samui herself walks up and bows formally to Naruto. "We were not told that you were to be part of the escort team Uzumaki-san." Omoi also bows and then quickly goes back to scanning the surrounding area, looking for any potential trouble. Karui just crosses her arms and turns her head to the side.
Naruto returns Samui's bow, but then holds out his fist. "Hey, what is with this Uzumaki-san stuff? Any friend of Bee's can call me Naruto." He gives her a big smile and holds out his fist till she returns the gesture. "Samui, I was glad to hear that they were able to get you and your brother out of that gourd. I hope both of you are doing okay now?"
Samui bows again to Naruto. "Yes, thankfully Bee-sama was able to extract both of us out of the gourd using the kokinjo to draw our souls back out of gourd and our bodies came out with them. Unfortunately, there are other victims inside the gourd that could not be retrieved since their names are not known."
Naruto smiles when he thinks about his friend and fellow jinchuriki, the notorious rapper Killer Bee, and how he survived the war. "Bee still won't tell me straight up if it was dumb luck or great planning that he cut off one of Gyuki's tentacles just before the rest of him was sucked into that big demon statue. That was just enough chakra to keep him alive until we were able to extract all of the biju back out of Madara. He just told me I was being a fool if I didn't think a ninja would have a plan within a plan, or at least I think that was what he was meaning with his rap."
Omoi clears his throat and gestures towards the boat where two teenagers about thirteen years of age wearing expensive looking robes are waiting at the top of the gangplank and behind them are several people who must be their attendees by the way they are dressed and fidgeting. Team Samui bows to the young nobles and the Leaf Village ninja's quickly follow suit.
The two young nobles return the bow and the young male asks, "Samui, who are these shinobi you are talking with, are they our escorts from the Hidden Leaf Village?"
Samui bows again to the young noble. "Yes Milord, Hotano Oshima and Hotano Nahima please allow me to introduce Uzumaki Naruto."
Both of them raise an eyebrow at the mention of Naruto's name and the young girl, Nahima, gives Naruto an appraising look. "So this is the shinobi that we have heard so much about. The hero of the war from what we have been told. I expected someone with such a reputation to be much taller and imposing like the Raikage."
Naruto sweat drops and then chuckles nervously to try and hide his embarrassment. "Yeah, I've been told that before." His training with Hinata suddenly kicks in and he bows deeply to the nobles. "I am honored that my name is known by the great Hotano family, but I was only part of the Allied Shinobi Force that worked together to stop Madara and the akatsuki. Tenten here was also in the war." Naruto gestures towards Tenten who bows and he then introduces Hanabi, Ookami, and Shimata.
The two nobles nod their heads in acknowledgement. "The ship's captain has informed us that it will take some time to unload all of our belongings, so we will require a place to stay until tomorrow when we can leave this town for our uncle's palace. While enjoyable, ocean travel on our father's ships can be very tiring so we will rest today and leave out in the morning." The mention of the uncle's palace jogs Naruto's memory that these are the twins of the Fire Daimyo's youngest sister who married the middle son of the Lightning Daimyo, the commander of their navy, fourteen years ago as part of a treaty to improve relations between the two nations. 'I guess all those bruises from Tinico-san's stick did knock some knowledge into my head. I'll have to thank her when I get back, yeah like with a big bag of termites.' He chuckles to himself.
Tenten steps forward and bows. "Samui-san there is an inn a little ways up the road that might meet their requirements, would you like to join me in checking it out while the others escort the Hotano-samas?" Once Samui nods in agreement they head up the road to check out the inn.
Later, after accommodations and meal requirements had been acquired for their charges the shinobi setup a combined patrol rotation to protect the young nobles till morning. While Samui and Hanabi patrol together Naruto walks over to Omoi and gestures for Shimata to join them. "Omoi, I was wondering if you would not mind working with Shimata on his kenjutsu? I heard Kakashi-sensei once praise your skills with a blade and this might be a good opportunity for Shimata to expand his skills as well." Omoi agrees and the two of them walked off to have a light sparing match. 'A favor for a favor, thanks for saying nothing Shimata.'
Naruto, finally with some free time, sits down to contemplate on his troubles as he watches the match in the courtyard. His troubled thoughts are interrupted when he notices Karui sitting down nearby. Naruto sees that she seems nervous or agitated about something so he looks over and he gives her a friendly smile. At first she just looks away, but when she notices that his friendly manner is not going to fade she turns back around and nods.
'Damn, this would have been a lot easier if he would just be angry with me instead of being so friendly.' She takes a deep breath lets out a sigh. "Uzumaki-san, I want to apologize for what happened between us before the war. I should have not taken my anger towards the Uchiha out upon you and for that I am sorry. I was angry that our sensei had been captured by him and I wanted to exact some sort of revenge for that unwarranted attack against Bee-sensei. While I still do not understand why you were willing to take my hate for him, I do respect the strength of your bond of friendship. He was instrumental in winning the final battle and looking back your belief in him was truly inspiring." She gives him a deep bow of respect.
Naruto just smiles and waves his hands back and forth. "First, just like I told Samui, please just call me Naruto. Secondly, Sasuke was part of my team and I bet you would fight just as hard to protect Omoi or Samui if you thought you could help them in the end. Finally, you did not need to apologize for what happened between us back then. It is in the past and part of my vision as the next Hokage is to get people to let go of the past and look towards the future. When you look back too often you see the negative more than the positives and that just leads to anger, resentment and even… fear." He looks down for a moment as if noticing something in his own words before continuing. "Madara could not let go of his past and tried to force a future that only he could see, instead of a future for everyone to work towards together." He holds out his fist to Karui. "How about it, let's look towards a future where our two nations always see each other not just as allies, but as friends."
Karui looks at his first for a moment before returning the gesture. "Bee-sensei said that you were a unique person, but I thought he was just being overly dramatic. Thank you for not holding a grudge and I'll think about what you have said." She gets up and walks away.
As Karui walks away a servant girl from the inn with long black hair and light grey eyes delivers some tea and offers to pour Naruto his first cup. He says yes and gives her a big smile that causes her to blush and look away. "I heard them call you Naruto. Would you be Uzumaki Naruto?"
He holds up his now filled teacup and gives her a friendly smile. "That's right, I am Uzumaki Naruto the one and only. What is your name?"
The girl blushes and averts her gaze. "A-Amiko, Uzumaki-san, I have heard some say that you are the hero of the recent war." She turns her head and shyly looks back into his eyes.
Naruto just chuckles and rubs the back of his head with his free hand. "People keep calling me hero, but really I was just part of a team and without all of us working together none of us would have survived."
"I-I am sorry, I did not mean an insult." She turns around and walks away.
Naruto jumps up and catches up with her. "No wait, I did not take your question as an insult. It's just I lost friends because of the war and it is hard talking about it without thinking about those who did not come back home to enjoy the peace they helped to ensure."
She can see the sadness in his eyes and is about to reach out to comfort him when he steps back and smirks. "It's okay, I focus on enjoying the time I have with the friends who are still with me and on my goal of becoming the Sixth Hokage. Don't forget my name, one day you will hear people talking about Hokage Uzumaki and you can tell them that you once talked with the Leaf Village Hokage." He gives a big fist pump when he mentions becoming the next Hokage.
She giggles at his excited pose, bows and as she walks away she says, "My shift ends in an hour, so if you are interested I would love to hear more about you and your friends." She gives him one last smile before she disappears around the corner.
"Looks like you made another 'little' friend Naruto." Naruto turns around and sees Tenten sitting there drinking his tea with a little smirk on her face.
"Uhhh." Naruto blushes and starts studying the odd looking knothole in the nearby post. "It's not what you are thinking Tenten, she just recognized my name and was asking if I was that Uzumaki Naruto."
Tenten gives him a fake shy smile. "I am a woman Naruto, I am pretty sure I know what she was asking about, what sort of answers she was hoping to receive, and that she was hoping for more than stories from the great war hero tonight." She raises an accusing eyebrow when he turns to look at her, his mouth agape.
"Now wait just a dang minute. I've done some stupid stuff in my life, okay a lot of stupid stuff, but if you think that I would do something that I know would hurt Hinata, especially with her sister around then you need to think again."
Tenten holds up her hand to show that she completely believes Naruto. "I am sorry I did not mean to insinuate that you were tempted by a shy smile on a pretty face. I honestly believe that you would injure yourself before you did something to hurt Hinata. I was just happy to see you smiling again and talking like your old self. I could not resist a chance to have some fun, so I am sorry for the insult."
Naruto nods in acceptance. "That's okay, I've had a lot on my mind lately and I guess I was being over sensitive."
Tenten refills her cup and looks back up at her friend. "I also wanted to say that was some pretty good advice you gave Karui about letting go of the past and not losing sight of the future. I know somebody who has been needing to hear that advice."
Naruto's face darkens and he turns away from her and starts walking away. "I thought that I asked you to drop that topic?" His voice sounds sad and a little hollow as he walks back into the inn.
"Hey, I was not talking about you Naruto." She watches sadly as for the second time on this mission she has driven her friend away. 'We both know I am lying, but I was talking about myself too. I really miss Neji, but maybe mom is right I need to think about my future and that he wouldn't have wanted me to be alone forever. I just need to talk with somebody and Sakura has said that you were a good listener and whenever she needed someone to talk to you were there and could take her mind off what was bothering her, even if it was by making her mad. I was hoping we could talk and maybe, just maybe, help each other.'
She gets up and runs down the hall after him. "Please wait, I am sorry Naruto if what I said a few nights ago upset you, okay." She gently touches him on the arm to try and make him stop. "I was out of line saying what I said, and I need to apologize. I honestly was just trying to see if I couldn't help nudge things in the right direction for you and Hinata. I was not lying when I said you guys look so good together, but instead I hit a sore spot and now you haven't been the same since that night and I feel like I am to blame." She can see his whole body wince at the mention of the other night.
Tenten gentle squeezes his arm to get his attention again. "What I need to know right now is if your head is in the game. We are on a mission and I am responsible for the lives of my genin. You are the one in charge of this mission and I need to know if your mental state is going to be a liability not only to the success of this mission, but if you are going to put yourself in danger again like the last time we went on a mission together."
"That last time was different okay." He looks at her briefly and then quickly averts he gaze. "I promise you that tomorrow I will be completely devoted to the mission." He laughs but his voice holds no mirth. "When have I ever gone back on my word? Till this mission is complete I promise I will push my personal issues aside. Isn't that what a Hokage is supposed to do? Sacrifice their personal needs and desires for the betterment of the whole village?"
When she had looks Naruto in the eyes she can see the change. On their last mission together, before the incident in Suna, she could see the smoldering anger just beneath the surface as if the Kyubi was being barely contained from releasing its wrath. Now that lack of self-preservation in his eyes was gone and had been replaced with something more akin to doubt. He looked as if some great decision was weighing on his soul and whatever he decided he felt it would doom him in some way. "Okay, but if not I will insist that we divert our mission path to go to the Leaf Village and ask the Hokage to get involved."
He nods as he walks away. "That seems fair I guess. I am headed to my room to get some sleep till it is my watch, goodnight Tenten."
"I'll see you in the morning." She watches him go and feels much better now that she has been able to talk privately with him and feels less concerned. Now that she has seen his eyes she knows it is no longer the anger that fills his heart but something closer to how she feels, uncertainty.
Flashback
Two nights after the first one, she had gone out on another double date with Ino, Kiba and Shino. The early part of the date had gone perfectly. They had gone out to dinner and sat around talking for quite a while and then later had just gone for a walk to get some fresh air to clear some of the alcohol that was just starting to give them a bit of a buzz.
They had decided to go for a walk through the park and somewhere along the way Ino and Kiba had slipped away leaving just her and Shino together. After a few awkward moments they had resumed talking about the village and how things have started to change with the new era of peace.
Shino was supposed to be getting his own team of genin after the next graduating class and she started talking about how the training was going with her team. It was when she was trying to act out a combat formation her team had been working on that she lost her balance, thanks to the alcohol. She had tripped over something and the next moment was being held, inches from the ground, in Shino's arms. It felt good to be held again in someone's strong arms and she let herself just for a moment enjoy the sensation.
It was when he had picked her up and they looked at each other closely that a wave of guilt washed over her and left its painful mark on her heart. She had just looked up at him and apologized before running away, her mind completely confused.
The next morning her mind had still been in a whirlwind of guilt, both for what she did to Shino and for having feelings for someone new. She had gone to see Ino, and before a word left her mouth a half dozen roses were thrust in her face. "He said he was sorry if he hurt you last night. Would you like to explain what happened? I thought things were going so well."
Tenten had explained everything and she could tell Ino was trying to be sympathetic, but she has never lost someone close to her before, except her father but a parent is different from a boyfriend. In the end Ino's advice had been that she needs to decide if she can move on, or end up alone and drunk every night like the Hokage. It was good advice, harsh, but good.
End Flashback
That is why she wants so badly for Naruto to find happiness. If somebody like him, who asked for very little more than attention and got nothing but a slap in his face most of his life could find the courage to love again after having his heart ripped out, then maybe so could she in the end.
As she sits and drinks the now cold tea she looks up into the sky. "Maybe I should just stop trying to help and just let him find his own way. He has always defied convention and found his own path to succeed at everything he has wanted, so why not love as well." To her it sounded like the right thing to do, but just not much fun. 'I am beginning to understand why Ino sticks her nose in everyone's business. It's kind of fun to stay in the background and pull strings.'
A/N: The flashback if for you Phiver, you asked for a little more TentenxShino date insight. I know that it is not exactly what you mentioned, but if people like this side story then I'll add a little more down the road. Heck, I do have a short one-shot brewing in my brain that I was thinking of doing as either its own story or a single intermission chapter between events in this story, since it does occur in this stories timeline. If there is no interest then what happens will occur off-camera in my sleep deprived brain.