Chapter 69

Naruto and Hinata Prepare to set out

Naruto decided not to show up for breakfast with the Hyuga's in the morning because of the awkward scenes from the day before. Lord Hiashi was actually glad to have a break from him after what had happened, and Hinata didn't want to relive the tension they had between them. After quickly eating with her dad, she set out to go see Naruto.

Naruto was half asleep when he answered the door, he wasn't expecting Hinata. He figured Lord Hiashi might tell her not to see him until the mission started, but that apparently wasn't the case.

"Hinata," Naruto said in a raspy voice as he opened up his door for her to come in.

She came in and sat down as he shut the door.

"Morning, are you ready to plan our mission?" She asked with enthusiasm.

"yeah, sure, I just woke up, so give me a few minutes," he said as he headed over to pick out some clothes and went into the bathroom.

Hinata took a second to look around the place and saw that he wasn't a very tidy housekeeper. He had some garbage that needed taken out and some dishes that needed to be done. She thought about getting up to do something when Naruto came out and sat down a few feet from her. She noticed the distance, looked at the space between them, and gave him an odd look.

"What have you thought of so far?" He asked, ignoring the look.

"Well, since we have three lands to travel to I was trying to prioritize them. I think we should go to the lands we can walk to first, so that leaves the cloud village for last. What do you think?" She opened her bag and began to take out a note pad.

"I think that's a good plan," he eyed the notepad. "What's that?"

"It's a notepad," she answered, wondering if he was still too tired to start planning.

"I know it's a notepad, but what are you using it for?" He returned, curious.

"Well, this is a big mission, probably the longest one either of us has ever been on. We will need to make sure we're prepared and try to plan a timeline so we know if we're on track." She explained although she thought it was obvious.

"Okay, got it," he replied, he was more of the 'don't plan but it all works out anyways type,' and her style caught him a little off guard. 'This will take some getting used to,' he thought.

Hinata scooted closer to him so she could show him the list so far, with the names of the villages on it. "Any idea of how much time we will spend in each village?"

He noticed her getting closer and although he was aware of her movements he hadn't moved, she was already weakening his resolve. He had to be strong. "Cough, cough," he covered his mouth and got up as he made coughing sounds. "Sorry Hinata, I think I'm catching a cold, I'll stand over here so I don't get you sick," he gave her a half smile.

She straightened her back and continued with the plan after giving him a suspicious look. "Maybe we can make a stop back here in the Leaf after going to the first two villages since Kumogakure is other way…" she pondered aloud, letting Naruto jump in when he wanted to.

"Yeah, that way we can carry fewer supplies at least."

"And we can give Shikamaru an update of what to expect so far and get a good night's rest before heading out again." She wrote the last down on her notepad as one of the key points in the plan.

"Did it surprise you last night when you heard Shikamaru wanted to marry Temari?" He wondered what Hinata thought about marriage and was trying to plan what his proposal would look like, or if she was even ready for one.

"Yes, didn't it surprise you Naruto?" She asked.

"Yeah, it did. I knew the guy liked her, but I had no idea he liked her that much. She's going to be one bossy wife," Naruto said as he chuckled.

Hinata could understand what Naruto meant but she also knew a different side of Temari than what she showed others. "She's really not like she appears once you get to know her better."

Naruto wanted to probe further. "Do you think they are too young to get married?" He asked her.

"I think, of all the obstacles they're facing, age is the least of their worries. That's another thing we will have to figure out, not just our journey, but what we plan to say. How can we convince three Kages to agree to this. We have to think of all the reasons they will object and counter those objections." She started brainstorming and flipped to a new page on her notepad.

"Well, it's forbidden, for one. Another, they're pretty young." At this, Hinata quickly glanced up at Naruto and back down, noting his point, but also to note it for herself.

"Didn't Shikamaru say he was the new advisor? That might be one, but if the Leaf doesn't have an issue with it why should another village?" He asked.

"Maybe they will look on this as the villages trying to combine forces against the others, we have to be prepared for questions about that. What would we do to show this isn't the case?"

"Isn't that why we're going in the first place? The shinobi from every hidden village were fighting by our side, they know there's no way we would want another war." He leaned against the wall and held his fingers under his chin like he was thinking.

"I think we have enough for now, you think well on your feet so we can handle that piece when we get there. How will we introduce the subject." She stood up and began to pace around the room, passing in front of Naruto every now and then.

"What if we just say, 'hey, remember Shikamaru Nara and Temari of the sand, could you imagine if they were to get married?'" He offered.

"I don't know Naruto, that seems to be lacking…tact." She realized that piece was probably going to fall on her. She also thought it was odd that Shikamaru didn't give them some sort of a script to follow. "Do you think it's a little strange that he didn't tell us what to say? Wouldn't he want to make sure we did this right?" Hinata stopped in front of him.

Naruto was caught off guard by Hinata being so close, but her point also made sense. These were all points that Shikamaru had been considering, wouldn't he know what to say? Why would he keep that from them? "Maybe he didn't want what we had to say to sound scripted…" Naruto whispered.

"Maybe," Hinata whispered back. He started to reach out his hand to touch her shoulder and then stopped himself. Hinata knew that he was purposely avoiding contact with her and she continued pacing. She didn't want to make an issue out of it and figured it probably had to do with the conversation he had with her father the day before.

Naruto worked hard to resist the urge to kiss her. The lingering pain in his stomach was also a good reminder. "Did you want to leave tomorrow? I wasn't sure if you had any other plans to take care of before we needed to leave."

"No, I'll pack tonight and I'll be ready. Are you coming over for breakfast?" She asked as she stopped moving.

"Um, I'm not sure if that's such a good idea Hinata," He began.

"Naruto, you're going to have to face him sometime, the longer you wait the harder it's going to be. Trust me. I'm heading out to pack," she said as she approached him. "I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast," she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek as he stood frozen in place. Lord Hiashi hadn't said anything about Hinata kissing him…

"Breakfast," he echoed back as she smiled and headed out the door.