Just as the first rays of the rising sun begin to make their way into the room Hinata's eyes pop open in excitement. Today is the day she leaves on her first mission as a member of the Diplomatic Division. The fact that this mission also involves working intimately with her boyfriend, Uzumaki Naruto, only makes the desire to hurry up and get out of bed even more intense. Intimately, oh what a wonderful way to think about this mission. It's a word that has, and possibly could, have so many potential meanings. Hinata pulls down her pillow to stifle a squeal of excitement so that the person sleeping next to her will not be disturbed, but her excitement cannot be contained and her feet kick back and forth in sheer joy.
FLASHBACK
Hinata, now that dinner is over, is looking over a pile of clothes and gear laid out on her bed. Even though this is not the first time she has packed to go away on an important mission for the Leaf Village, it is her first as a member of the Diplomatic Division. That and the fact that this is first time being on a mission with Naruto where the chance of something… romantic actually occurring is very possible, is making her hands tremble as she rechecks over everything.
After hearing a soft knock Hinata looks up to see her sister Hanabi gently opening the door, and she nods in agreement when Hanabi asks if it is okay for her to come into the room. Hinata returns to checking the stacks of clothing and accessories as her sister walks across the room to see what she is doing.
Hanabi's face lights up in excitement as her hands run over the smooth silk material of the kimono that Hinata has selected to wear at the formal party for the dignitaries. "This one is beautiful onee-san. I bet Naruto is going to be speechless when he sees you wearing this kimono. Is it new?"
Hinata nods as she carefully folds the kimono and its accessories to get them ready to be sealed in a scroll for easier transport. "Thank you, I am not completely sure what the dress code requirements are going to be for their celebration, so I am packing a couple of options. Once I get there I can hopefully talk to Temari and get a better idea of what would be the best outfit to wear to the party with Naruto-kun. That is why I am also packing one of these as well." She places a more modern style dress and its accessories on a separate pile.
Hinata leans closer to her sister with a pink-faced smile and speaks in whispered tones. "Just between you and me I am hoping that this one is appropriate for the event, because then it might give me the courage to wear this underneath." Hinata slides over a small box and hesitantly opens it as if the contents are volatile and could explode if not handled properly. She really can't believe that she is showing her little sister the surprise she is taking along, but knowing Tenten the secret probably wouldn't be much of one to her students after she and Naruto leave the village.
Hanabi can only gasp and cover her mouth in shock when she sees what is inside the little box. As her hands begin to fidget nervously, Hanabi looks at her sister and then back at the box with her mouth fully agape. Her sister really has changed if she is thinking of wearing something so provocative underneath her clothes.
"W-W-Well, what d-d-do think? Is it too much?" Hinata slaps the lid back down on the box and slides it over to the side. "I-I-It is too much. I should wait to wear something like this… later." She hangs her head in shame and picks at some imaginary object under the nail of her index finger. "Or maybe never, he might think…"
"What, that are you hoping, maybe expecting him to see you undressed while you are away on this mission together?" Hanabi, now over her initial shock of seeing the contents of the little box, decides to see how far she can push her older sister. "Deep down you can't wait to know what it is like to be held by him in a very intimate embrace." Hanabi has to pause teasing her sister for a moment, because she can feel her own face becoming flushed as her own questions begins to make her wonder the same thing. Will she ever share a loving embrace with a man that has stolen her heart like Naruto has done to her sister?
Hinata is now in such a complete state of shock that the top of her head feels like steam could start whistling out her ears at any moment. She reaches over, grabs a pillow and begins to fan the red hot flesh of her face. She should have known better than to give Hanabi an opening to make an embarrassing remark.
Hanabi waves a hand back and forth as if the whole thing is not a surprise. "What, you think it is secret that you want Naruto to kiss more than your lips? I mean he has already left at least one love-bite on your neck." She reaches up and holds her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles now that her sister has begun to gasp for breath out of fear that other people may have noticed that she has been using makeup on her neck lately.
"Come on, I can see that weird look in your eyes when the two of you share a kiss and you think nobody is watching." When Hinata covers her face in shame with the pillow, Hanabi begins to wonder if her sister might accidentally smother herself. "Well, seeing that weird look and from what I have read in your diary, confirms what you really want. Wow that stuff is hot, it could have been written by…"
THUMP!
Her shock now banished by indignant rage, Hinata swings her pillow back-handed like a club and knocks her sister off of the edge of the bed and onto the floor. She angrily activates her byakugan as she leaps from the edge of the bed and straddles over her now giggling little sister. "You little rat!" She pummels Hanabi with the pillow till there are downy white feathers flying about the room like snow.
When Hinata stops to catch her breath, Hanabi's hands pulls away from protecting her face to reveal an almost maniacal face of laughter, now ringed in fluffy white feathers, which makes the whole scene even more upsetting. Hanabi's body shakes a few times, then she lets out a gasp for breath that sounds more like the honk of a goose. She then coughs a few times and spits out a wet glob of down before covering her face again when she sees her sister's hand reaching out to the bed for another pillow.
Hinata grabs her bedroll from beside her pack and starts hitting her now convulsing sister with the dense material. "I" thump "cannot" thump "believe" thump "you" thump "would" thump "do" thump "that" thump "to" thump "me!" THUMP
Hanabi is unsure whether the pain in her sides is due to the beating she is receiving, or from laughing so hard. Unable to take anymore punishment she holds up one hand in surrender, while covering her face with her other arm. "Ow" giggle "please stop" snicker "I-I-I was just…" She covers her face with her hands again and tucks in her elbows to protect her chest and ribs as she feels Hinata's weight shift.
"What?" Hinata raises up the bedroll in a two-handed grasp like a spear, ready to deliver one final strike of vengeance upon her soon to be dearly departed, sneak of a sister.
"Kidding." Hanabi opens up her hands a little to give Hinata a playful little smile. "I swear that I have not read your diary for any information about you and Naruto." The tone of her voice and the twinkle in her eyes denotes that the word 'yet' is obviously insinuated, because now she knows the book does contains juicy tidbits of her sister's relationship with Uzumaki Naruto. Who knows, that shy innocence she puts out could be an act and her sister is in reality a closet pervert wishing that Naruto would do kami knows what to her body.
Once Hinata sits back down on the edge of the bed glaring down at her, Hanabi sits up and tries to shake the feathers from her hair. She decides that she should tell her sister the truth. "I will admit that I have been tempted a couple of times to take a look in your diary." She flinches reflexively, expecting a bedroll to swing around and connect with the side of her head. When the expected assault does not happen she opens one eye to see Hinata looking at her expectantly with her arms crossed, but still holding the bedroll in one hand. "I was curious after your first kiss with Naruto, and especially after the fireworks show at the New Year's Festival. I was wondering if you described the kiss with him like you would find in one of those cheesy romance novels Ookami likes to read." She turns her head to the side when it is obvious that she too has read at least certain sections of those novels.
Seeing her sister's innocent curiosity openly displayed banishes her anger and brings out the protective older sister in Hinata. She lays down the bedroll before clasping her hands together on her lap. "I think each person's perception of something like that is different, and the way someone would honestly describe the sensation may be different from how you will perceive and describe a kiss one day. I think who you are kissing and the depth of your feeling for that person will also change how it feels, in here." Hinata raises one hand and places it over her heart.
"I waited a long time for that first kiss with Naruto and I do not regret the fact that I have no other lips to compare to his, nor do I ever want to know the sensation of another man's lips touching mine." She reaches down and gently brushes Hanabi's cheek. "I am not going to tell you that my way is the only way, or that kissing more than one boy in your life is right or wrong. That is for you to ultimately decide. I will just say that there is nothing wrong with taking your time to find the right one to share that first kiss with, because that memory will be with you for the rest of your life. It may not be the best or even worst kiss you ever have, but it will definitely be one those that you will think about later."
Hinata reaches up and brushes her lips as the memory of her first kiss with Naruto comes to her mind as if it had only happened a few moments ago. What they both were wearing, how his outfit was a little off-centered and showed just a little more of the left side of his neck than his right. The smell of the roses he had brought her for their first date, and how the paper crinkled when the bouquet had been momentarily trapped between their bodies. The warm tingling sensation that had gone through her entire being the moment their lips touched, and the wonderful look of shock on Naruto's face when she had pulled away. She has no doubt that when she is much older, and Naruto is away from the village helping someone in need, that she will still be able to close her eyes and think of that night with perfect recollection.
Hanabi claps her hands together as an idea crosses her mind. "Why don't we have a mini-slumber party tonight like we used to have when we were younger? We can have the servants bring some tea along with some cakes and we can just sit and chat together for a little while before we go to sleep." She looks about at the slowly shifting layer of feathers floating about the room and giggles. "Why don't we do it in my room? I can help you pack there too, so that you won't have to explain to Naruto tomorrow about all of the tiny white feathers coming out of your pack. I'll even clean up the room while you are gone, and before you ask I promise not to snoop around your room while I am cleaning."
Hinata places her hands on her hips and gives Hanabi an indignant look. "If I did tell him about the feathers he would only feel sorry for the pillow once I explained why it was sacrificed to teach you a lesson." As she looks about at the fine layer of fluffy white down covering everything in her room Hinata lets out a heavy sigh that disturbs a patch of feathers and sends them flying. She looks over at her sister accusingly before they both break out in laughter.
END FLASHBACK
Hanabi's legs jerk away as one of Hinata's heels absently kicks her in the back of her calf. "Ow, if you have to pee so bad then go pee, otherwise stop thrashing about like some idiot." As the fog of sleep finally fades Hanabi remembers who she has just yelled at and why her sister is in her bed. More to the point, she thinks of another reason why her sister is acting like somebody possessed. Hanabi rolls over and snuggles up to her sister so that she can whisper in her ear. "So, what are you thinking about? Must be something special to make you scream and flail about like that, are you thinking about somebody with sky blue eyes?"
As she feels Hinata's body tense in guilt Hanabi gives in to the desire to tease her sister just a little more. "I bet you are excited to be going away from the village with your boyfriend and what you two might be doing with no chance of otou-sama finding out what you are doing when alone."
Hanabi swallows hard as her face begins to turn red even before she asks her next question. "Are you thinking about being held and caressed by him, or are you thinking about touching his…"
Hinata leaps out of bed and turns around holding the pillow that she had just been screaming into as a weapon. She looks down in complete shock at what she had thought was her innocent little sister. "That will be enough of that talk Hanabi! I think that you have been spending way too much time hanging out with Ookami and have picked up some very bad habits. If otou-sama was to ever hear such talk from one of his daughters…"
Hanabi looks up at Hinata, her eyes filled with as much innocence as she can muster. "I was going to say whisker marks on his face, because they look so cool." She pulls up the blanket and hugs it to her chest protectively. "What did you think that I was going to suggest you were touching?" Hanabi's eyes blink a few times in mock innocent curiosity.
Hinata throws the pillows into her sister's face and strikes and indignant pose. "You and I are going to have a serious talk when I get back from this mission." She walks over to the door and stops just before pulling it open. "I am going to go clean up and get ready to leave. I suggest you find a way to do the same for that dirty mind of yours Hanabi-chan."
Hanabi waits until the door is almost closed before she responds. "I look forward to hearing and reading about how much fun you had on your mission with Naruto when you get back." After the door thankfully closes instead of being flung wide open, Hanabi lies down onto her bed and looks up at the ceiling giggling in victory.
Hinata rubs her forehead in frustration as she heads towards the bathroom. She really should not be that surprised by Hanabi. She was always the less timid of the two sisters and knowing how crude and downright vulgar Kiba could be at times, it is no wonder that her very impressionable little sister would pick up some bad habits from his cousin. Who knows, if Kiba had been a female teammate like Ookami is for Hanabi then she might have picked up some bad habits as well. Thankfully Kurenai-sensei and Shino had been there to help keep him somewhat in check.
As she stands in front of the mirror looking at the young woman in the reflection she dismisses the thoughts about her sister's actions till she returns home. Hinata stops and casts a critical eye over the face in the mirror, making sure that there is no unexpected blemish or sign of a breakout that she needs to take care of before it becomes a problem. Thankfully her skin looks clear and she washes her face wondering if there will be anything different about this person the next time she stares at her in this mirror. She holds up her left hand and smiles. "Some new jewelry would be nice."
A sense of relief washes over Naruto as he approaches the main gate of the Hyuga compound. After his encounter with Sasuke last night he had a lot of trouble falling asleep. To distract himself he had resorted to cleaning up around his apartment and finally reading before he had been able to catch a few hours of fitful rest. Reading had help to get his mind on something other than what sort of threat had been made against Hinata, and why he has not been told.
So instead of going to Hinata's home and sneaking into her room to talk; or going to the hospital and making a loud fool of himself, promise be damned, he had decided to calm down and wait. Anyways SHE had been put on leave and was probably not on duty last night, so he would have been a double idiot for going to the hospital last night. He would have left behind a lot of rumors for people to ask why SHE and Sasuke left the day after he stormed through the hospital looking for her, which would not have done either one of them any good. As he had finally begun to feel sleep tightening its grip Naruto had to chuckle about how he had done three very un-Naruto like things tonight; cleaning, reading, and being patient.
A few hours later, after waking up with a sudden jolt and seeing that the sky was beginning to turn that weird pre-dawn grey, he had just gotten up out of bed rather than let his mind dwell on that subject again. Naruto didn't want to make a mess in his freshly cleaned kitchen, so after taking a shower and getting dressed he had gone to a nearby place that serves a really strong breakfast tea. The idle chatter with the owner and a few customers was a welcome distraction till the tea and fresh baked anpan had worked its magic until it was time to meet with Hinata.
Now that he is almost to the entrance Naruto smiles when he sees the familiar figure of Kodi standing guard. After a formal bow of greeting Kodi's face cracks into a slight smile. "Good morning, Uzumaki-san. You seem to be in very good spirits this morning."
Naruto crosses his arms behind his head as his smile grows even broader. "You better believe it Kodi. I am leaving today to go on a mission with Hinata and I can't wait to get started. The chance for me and Hinata to be alone…" The gate is suddenly pushed open from behind by Kira, causing Naruto to feel like a nervous schoolboy as he sees Hyuga Hiashi standing there with his arms crossed and his hands up the opposite sleeves, patiently staring at Naruto. "and…"
Hiashi glances over at his eldest daughter, who is nervously touching her fingers together and blushing guiltily as if some secret plan has just been uncovered. He turns back to spear Naruto with a questioning glance as the young man gets over his shock and quickly bows a greeting. "You were saying, Uzumaki-san?"
Naruto's mind goes into overdrive trying to come up with something to say that will get him out of the predicament his mouth has seemingly just placed him and Hinata into. "Yeah, I… uh… am excited that I will get to… put into practice… all of the stuff that Hinata… has… been teaching me about diplomacy." Now that a reasonable response has been fabricated Naruto straightens up confidently. "It will be nice to see if I am able to remember all of that stuff. Yesterday we went through a lot of names and ranks of people I might be meeting at the celebration." He half-closes his eyes and wobbles his head as if all that information is making his head spin.
He pats the side of his face to cease its motion and chuckles derisively at himself. "I never realized how important it is to greet people in the way they are accustomed to in their own countries. I've always just introduced myself and asked them how they are doing." He shrugs and gives a sheepish grin. "I guess that is why Kakashi-sensei always told me to be quiet and let him do the talking when we met with important people on missions."
Naruto looks over and gives Hinata a generous smile. "I am glad Hinata has been assigned to come along to keep me straight. It's amazing how she can remember all of this stuff, but I guess that is because she is used to this sort of thing, being your daughter and all." He glances over and gives Hinata a little wink.
Hinata blushes brightly from Naruto's praise, but then shakes her head. "I think that you will do fine, Naruto-kun. You were doing very well by the end of our session yesterday as we went through the list of people who are on the expected guest list." Hinata then steps forward to stand beside Naruto and face towards her father before giving him a respectful bow. "We should probably be going; it will take us several days of walking to reach the Hidden Sand Village."
After he returns Hinata's bow Hiashi looks at both of them intently for a moment before focusing on his daughter. "I expect you to remember that you are on a mission to represent the Hidden Leaf Village, and will behave accordingly while you are away. Hinata, even though this is your first mission as a member of the Diplomatic Division, I will not take that as an excuse for a poor performance, since you have been exposed to duties similar to this one your entire life. Have I made myself clear?"
The intensity of the look that Hiashi gives Hinata sends a wave of irritation through Naruto. Just as he is about to give into the impulse to get into the Hyuga leader's face over how he has just talked to Hinata, Naruto feels a cool hand brush across his clenched fist, dispelling his irritation.
Hinata did not have to see Naruto to know what his reaction would be to her father's blunt words. As she bows she brushes her hand gently against Naruto, in hopes that he will sense that she is not offended by her father's words. "I understand otou-sama, I promise you that I will do everything in my power to make sure that the mission is successful, and that the performance of our duties will be fitting for someone who has been given the honor of representing the Hokage at the Sand Village's important celebration." After she rises up and receives an approving nod from her father, Hinata looks over at Naruto with a slight smile.
There is something about Hinata's smile and the slight crinkle in the corner of her eye that tells Naruto that he needs to follow her lead. Realizing what she is trying insinuate, Naruto straightens his posture and jabs the thumb of his right hand to his chest. "That's right, I am going to be the Hokage one day. So I might as well get used to this kind of duty, and with Hinata by my side there is no way I could ever fail in reaching my goals."
So completely assured of his statement Naruto completely misses the ever so slight change in the facial expression of Hyuga Hiashi. The slight twitch in the corner of her father's mouth was not missed by Hinata, nor does she miss the slightly raised eyebrow of her thankfully quiet younger sister. As she tries to come up with some sort of response so that they won't misinterpret his words again, she feels Naruto's strong hand wrap around her own and give a little squeeze. Hinata turns her head to see why he is trying to get her attention and her heart skips a beat when she sees the smirk on his face. A smile that tells her he meant exactly when he just said to her father, even if he does not understand all of the nuances of his words.
A feeling of giddiness surges through her body, and Hinata's thoughts become lost on the excitement of what Naruto has just said. She pushes away the cynical voice that has always tried to fill her with doubt, which is somehow trying to convince her that Naruto is admitting that he is just using her to reach his goals. 'He is not using me or my clan's influence to reach his goal of becoming Hokage. Just like I am not using him to help increase my clan's power, even though I know some people have begun to quietly suggest that otou-sama is trying to do that very thing. It is not in either of our natures to do that to anyone, so stop trying to find the negative in everything.' Hinata pinches her leg with her free hand to accentuate her point to that negative voice in her head.
When she finally refocuses on her surroundings Hinata realizes that she is no longer standing outside the main gate to her family's estate. Instead she is now walking hand-in-hand down the street with Naruto, who is happily talking away about something.
"Well, here we are, just like I promised." Naruto gestures towards the entrance of the Yamanaka flower shop. Ignoring the confused look upon Hinata's face, Naruto leads her inside and begins calling out. "Hey is anybody in here, I have come to pick up my order." He turns back to Hinata with a big smile on his face. "I promised you that I would give you a flower every day that I possibly could tenshi, and I am not about to go back on my word."
Ino comes from around back with her hands behind her back, a mischievous smile on her face. "I just got your order completed. I wanted to make sure that is was fresh so it could last as long as possible." She holds out a single purple stargazer lily, the inner petals are splashed with yellow and flecked with bright orange spots. "I have been saving this one for a special occasion, and I thought your first mission together was just the ticket. So, what do you think?"
Hinata stares down at the flower in complete awe. "It's the most beautiful flower I think that I have ever seen Ino. Thank you so much." Hinata reaches over and gives Ino a gentle hug.
Naruto nods in agreement to Hinata's observation. 'Man, when we get back I am going to see if I can get some seeds for Hinata's garden. I bet she would really like to have some of them to plant and grow for herself.' As he picks up the flower to hand it to Hinata he stops and stares curiously at the delicate flower. "Uh Ino, not to be picky but this flower is kind of broken." He holds it up to show that the stem only reaches a few inches down from the flower. It is wrapped in some sort of green tape and has a small round white ball at the bottom. "If this is the only one you got, I can tie it to a stick or something."
Hinata covers her mouth to keep Naruto from seeing her laughing while Ino just throws her head back and laughs out loud. The sudden loud burst of laughter from Ino has two effects; it causes him to look even more confused, which makes Hinata have to turn her head and look away. 'Oh Naruto, I sometimes forget just how much you have missed out on while you were growing up. Things that we take for granted as common knowledge can still new to you sometimes.'
Ino takes the flower from Naruto, pulls off the white ball to reveal that it is the end of a pin, and holds it close to her chest. "This is a small corsage. It is to be pinned to the clothes so that the girl's hands are free. Hinata is a kunoichi, and she needs to have her hands free just in case she is attacked and needs to fight." Ino watches as Naruto nods in understanding as she mimes pinning the corsage and then hands it over to Naruto. "Here, pin this on Hinata while I ring up your order."
Naruto steps over to a smiling Hinata and lifts up the flower. Just as his hand is about to press the flower against the fabric of her kimono he stops. 'Oh crap, right where Ino demonstrated where the flower should go… is right where… Hinata's…' glup 'I am having enough uncertainty about whether it is really okay for me to touch Hinata there yet after the way she broke away suddenly last time I… basically groped her. Plus, with Ino right here I can't give her the chance to accuse me of groping Hinata while I am fumbling around with this flower.''
Hinata is busy thinking about the beauty of the flower and the wonderful scent it is exuding when she notices that Naruto's hands have stopped moving towards her and are actually shaking a little. She looks up and sees that his face has turned a light shade of pink and is staring wide-eyed at his hands, or is it his hands that his eyes are focused on at the moment. When he looks up momentarily at her face and then back at his hands, almost guiltily, she realizes his dilemma. 'He will have to touch near my… breast to attach the flower.'
Hinata's sudden flush of nervous excitement causes her to breathe heavily, which in turn makes Naruto's task even more difficult as the material over her breast begin to rise and fall in an almost hypnotic fashion. 'Damn, did they always do that sort of thing and I was being oblivious, or is it because she always wore that baggy jacket before and I just couldn't notice how much they move when she breathes?' He looks up at Hinata and as soon as their eyes meet he feels a wave of guilt surge through his body as he has just been caught gawking at his girlfriend's breast. He swallows hard and his eyes narrow slightly in preparation for the slap in the face he has just earned.
Ino is watching the whole thing in complete joy as she gets to watch Naruto trying to muster the courage to try and pin the corsage to Hinata's kimono. The whole time the two of them are slowly getting a brighter shade of red with each failed attempt. As she watches Hinata's breathing become deeper and more rapid Ino begins to feel a little bit of sympathy for Naruto. 'Damn, I would hate to have to pin that flower to such a large and delicate moving target like those if I were an innocent boy. My boyfriend on the other hand would enjoy the chance to pin a flower on me, and even make a few mistakes before he got it pinned right.' She reaches out and takes Naruto's hands and guides them over to the strap of Hinata's backpack. "How about here, it's still near her face and there is no chance of you putting your girlfriend in the hospital with a puncture wound before you even leave the village."
"Oh yeah, thanks Ino, that helps a lot." He gives her a nervous smile as she takes his hands and guides him on how best to pin the corsage safely to the strap of Hinata's backpack. He glances up at Hinata to see her reaction and smiles back at her when he sees the happy tint of pink on her cheeks.
After thanking Ino for the flower they do not notice that once they are outside she puts a back in 15 minutes sign in the window. Inside, she picks up another filled order that needs to be delivered this morning and quietly slips out the back door with an expertly wrapped single pink rose in her hands.
A little while later, after they have met up with Shikamaru and Choji and left the village, Hinata and Naruto are walking beside each other several paces behind the two friends who have taken the lead. Hinata leans over to sniff again at the small flower pinned so close to her face. She thinks back to all the different looks that they received by the villagers as they made their way to the main gate. Some surprised to see them geared up for a mission and leaving together. Others gave them appraising glances at the new outfits they were wearing. There were a few obvious jealous looks thrown at her when they thought she was not looking, and probably others that she did not see as well Naruto was being distracted by a pack of young girls who were gushing over his new outfit. Their complements were rewarded with him waving at them with one hand while the other slipped affectionately around Hinata's waist while he bragged how the jacket was a gift from his girlfriend.
The scent of the flower and the warmth of that memory bring a smile to Hinata's face as she looks up at Naruto. 'He looks so tired and distracted.' She had noticed the very moment the gates to her family estate had opened that his posture was a little slumped and the shine of his eyes seemed a bit dimmer than usual. He didn't say anything and had immediately acted like he normally does when they are together. When she smelled the scent of cinnamon on his clothes she had assumed that he had stayed up late baking her a surprise. Now that a few miles have been put between them and the Leaf Village she can see him begin to slump again and begins to wonder if there is more to it than she initially thought.
When Naruto notices that he is being watched there is a momentary furrowing of his brows and then it is gone to be replaced with his normal bright smile. Seeing that her Naruto is back, Hinata pauses walking and rises up on her tiptoes to kiss him gently on the lips. She watches him with a barely concealed smile as she waits to see if he notices. It does not take long before he starts to rub his lips together with a curious look on his face.
Naruto sticks out his tongue to sample the curious sweet taste on his lips. It is sweet, fruit-like really, and adheres to his lips and tongue in a weird sort of way. As he looks over at Hinata and sees her barely able to keep from giggling he realizes that she has played a prank on him already and the mission is barely underway. Naruto looks at her with eyes half-closed, trying to look angry, but instead he looks so comical her body shivers with barely controlled laughter. "What is this on my lips, Hinata?"
Hinata scrunches her nose and leans closer to Naruto's face to try and see what is wrong with his lips. With her left hand she cups his chin while the index finger of her right hand traces his lips lightly. Hinata's eyes partially close as she sees the effect of touching his lips this way arouses herself as much as it seems to be doing to him as well. She really hadn't thought this out very well, otherwise she would have waited until they were completely alone, but that would carry its own danger though. Being caught between duty and desire promises to make this mission more difficult and exciting than any other she had been on up to now.
The sensation of Hinata's soft warm hands on his face is a wonderful soothing sensation, but her fingertip on his lips is like an icy fire burning its way right into the animal portion of brain. All lingering thoughts of last night's conversation are gone, banished in an instant by the wonderful smile on her face. 'What amazes me about her isn't that her voice sings soothingly like an angel on my shoulder. Instead it is how with just a gentle smile or a simple touch she silences the demons that try to tear me down.' His hands glide over to her hips and he begins to rub his thumbs down the curve of her waist.
Hinata pulls on his chin closer and gives him a lingering kiss that makes sure every square millimeter of his lip have been given proper attention. She can feel his grip tighten on her hips just as her as legs begin to feel like they are going to betray her right in the middle of the road. Hinata finally pulls away, just before her knees completely give out, and slowly tastes her owns lips with her tongue while unblinkingly looking into his eyes. "Strawberries." Her voice comes out so husky that she barely recognizes it as her own.
Naruto nods as his tongue slowly confirms the flavor on his lips. "I do like… strawberries."
Hinata smiles as her brain shakes off the fog of lust clouding her mind. "It's lip balm, Naruto-kun. I always wear some when I go on missions to protect my lips from the elements."
Naruto purses his lips thoughtfully as he thinks about this new information. "I never knew this about you tenshi."
"I know." Hinata turns her head to the side and looks down towards the ground, pretending to be hurt that he did not find this out till just now.
He reaches up his hands and waves them about apologetically. "Hey, we both know that I was a little dense when I was younger…"
"A little?" She gives him a smirk to show that she is enjoying watching the powerful Uzumaki Naruto dance under her control.
A cough of annoyance can be heard a little ways away and interrupts the moment. "Hey, if you are done pulling Naruto's strings could we get a move on? I don't want to have to explain to the Hokage why we reached the mission location after it was already over."
Naruto rubs the back of his head in embarrassment while Hinata bows deeply to hide the bright blush on her face for being caught. They quickly resume walking side-by-side and laugh a little at themselves as they occasionally see Choji look over his shoulder at them and chuckle.
Naruto smacks his lips thoughtfully when he notices Hinata reapplying the lip balm, now that most of it is gone. "Hey, could I some of that?"
Hinata feels a giddy thrill run up her spine as the thought have having something that touched Naruto's lip in her pocket for her to touch to hers later goes through her mind. She fumbles for a second as she twists the bottom to extend the balm tip before holding it up. "Sure, here you….mmpfh."
Naruto pulls back away and rubs his lips together to thoroughly spread the fresh balm he just got from kissing Hinata. "Thanks Hinata, you are the best. Though I might need some more strawberries later."