A/N: Third installment. Not much action going on yet, but I promise the next will be when it starts. A bit of NaruHina, so deal with it. It's for a reason. Cool stuff will be heading this way, stay tuned! -Hollowfied
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.
Chapter 3: Mission, Start! To Amegakure!
Shikamaru stood up to his name as one of the smartest ninja of his generation.
Through use of drawn-out plans and shogi pieces, he developed quick and concise strategies in and out of Amegakure, including different formations and counterattacks in case of ambushes. Met with enthusiastic compliments, he merely shrugged.
They grudgingly set out at twilight through the insistence on punctuality from Kakashi. Naruto never met such an uptight man in his life; it was all about deadlines and duty with the mysterious ANBU ninja. As night quickly approached, the soft, orange beams of sunlight that bathed the platoon of ninja gradually disappeared altogether. Without complaint, the platoon took to the trees and hastily made their way towards their target in pitch darkness.
The shinobi moved hastily but carefully, using Kiba and Akamaru's acute senses and Hinata's Byakugan to guide their way. Through increased vision along with hearing and smell combined, the group was able to avoid enemy ninjas waiting in ambush and, more importantly, crashing into trees.
Eventually, at the peak of midnight, the group of seven ninja slowed to a halt on Kakashi's command.
"We'll set up camp here," he stated, acknowledging the pants coming from behind him, "We've been travelling most of the night and made good time; we should reach Amegakure by daybreak. Hinata, you'll take first shift of guard duty with your Byakugan-,"
"Kakashi-san," Naruto interrupted, "Hinata's been using her Byakugan all night. She must be tired. I volunteer myself to take first shift,"
Kakashi turned to face Naruto, who was sure a cold glare was being thrown at him from under the ANBU mask.
"I will not expend the safety of this group because you feel sorry for your girlfriend, Namikaze-kun," Kakashi retorted, "and I don't remember putting the subject up for discussion."
Naruto balled his fist, preparing to bite back with a retort of his own. Before he could snap, he felt a soft hand holding him back.
"It's ok, Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered from behind him, "I'm alright, really."
"No, it's not ok," he called back, "you've done enough for us already."
He turned to converse with Kakashi once more, when Kiba stepped in front of him.
"Kakashi-sama," Kiba attempted to reason, "your concern for our safety is much appreciated. Might I offer my own aid in guard duty? I'm sure you'll soon come to realize that Akamaru and my senses are more than enough to sense even the smallest movement in the forest."
Silence followed as Kakashi contemplated Kiba's reasoning, and before long he responded with a curt nod.
"Just this once, I override my order," Kakashi said, "from now on, defy them and there will be consequences."
Naruto struggled to hold himself back, but forced his balled fist to uncurl. He's not your enemy, Naruto, he told himself, sighing. He whispered his thanks to Kiba, who responded with a nod and a thumbs-up, and retired himself to aiding the others in setting up tent.
In about half an hour's time, the ninja team managed to set up three individual tents: the smallest was taken by Kakashi, who insisted on it, claiming he would be sitting up and reading the entire night anyways; one of almost equal size but slightly larger was taken by Hinata, the only girl in the mission; the last, a considerably larger one, was taken by the rest of the platoon.
The guys in the mission filled their tent with yawns of weariness while, at the same time, bubbling with excitement. Shino silently crawled into a corner while Kiba haphazardly threw his sleeping bag on the ground and dived into it, resting his head in the palms of his hands. Chouji sat in the middle of the tent, munching on more snacks, while Naruto and Shikamaru organized their sleeping bags and various items. Akamaru barked as he stood guard.
"I'm not liking this Kakashi guy," Naruto mumbled as he removed his flak jacket.
"Easy, Naruto," Shikamaru responded, "it would be too troublesome to start a fight with a team member now, much less our team captain,"
"I know, I know, I'm just wondering why dad chose him of all people to lead us!" Naruto spat.
"Obviously he trusts him, being an ex-student and all," Kiba yawned.
Naruto sighed, laying on his sleeping bag. Shikamaru sat cross-legged on his sleeping bag and pulled a shogi set out of his bag, proceeding to play against himself. Silence ensued for awhile, only occasionally broken by the crunching of potato chips. As sleep refused to fall on the weary ninjas, they continued to converse. Shino promptly stayed out of the conversation, preferring the solitude of his corner, while Chouji's mouth was often too full to chat anyways.
"You're missing out, you know," Kiba commented slyly after awhile.
"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, confused.
"Hinata… all alone in her tent… who knows what you could do without any of us finding out…"
"S-s-shut up!" Naruto stuttered, taken off-guard.
"Relax, hothead," Kiba laughed, "it was just a joke. Honestly, though, wouldn't you prefer spending time with her then us idiots?"
"Leave me out of 'us idiots', thanks," Shikamaru murmured as he continued to ponder over his shogi openings.
Naruto remained silent, embarrassed, but realizing Kiba had a point. But, knowing they would make jokes about him once he left, decided resolutely to stay.
"Get out," Kiba finally commanded. Upon Naruto's refusal, Kiba whistled, which prompted Akamaru to tackle Naruto, who had no choice but to exit the tent as the giant ball of fur shoved him and playfully bit at his ankles until he left.
"Baka," Shikamaru commented as he interlaced his fingers, staring blankly at his shogi pieces. Kiba laughed.
Naruto cursed under his breath as every attempt he made to reenter the tent was met with a loud bark. That wouldn't be an option, and the young shinobi was too tired to keep up the fight anyways.
With a sigh of defeat, he made his way to the petite tent where Hinata temporarily resided. His heart began to pound faster the closer he got to the tent. What am I nervous about? Naruto scolded himself, I've seen Hinata thousands of times…
He stood in front of the tent for a whole minute, seemingly unable to take another step. It was as if a barrier protruded from the tiny tent, keeping him from stepping any closer. Before long, a loud whistle erupted from behind him. Naruto turned to see Kiba exiting their tent. He must be going on guard duty… Naruto thought. Kiba pointed at his wrist, where a watch would be, and mouthed, You haven't got all day.
Naruto sighed, knowing full well that the shell of a man Kakashi would undoubtedly call Hinata for the second guard shift. Taking a deep breath, he entered the tent.
"Hinata, are you awake?" Naruto whispered into the darkness.
"With all the noise you boys make, how can anyone sleep?" was her response.
He chuckled softly, muttering an apology and asking for permission to enter, which she obviously gave. He fumbled his way to a mat laid out in a corner of the room as Hinata lit a candle. As fragments of light bathed the tent, Naruto couldn't help but gasp as he laid eyes on Hinata's face once more.
"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.
"Nothing… you're just beautiful," he commented, laughing it off.
"You're sweet," she rolled her eyes, passing off his comment as a joke.
The pair sat and chatted until track of time was lost. At one point Hinata made tea, which Naruto drained in his efforts to stay awake. Before long, the candlestick burned to less than a quarter of its original size, its flames nothing more than a whimper. Hinata uttered a loud yawn.
"You must be tired," Naruto commented, "I shouldn't be keeping you up anyways… you should go to sleep,"
"I'm fine," Hinata replied with a smile. Naruto insisted, and eventually the couple reached a compromise of her resting on his shoulder. With another yawn, Hinata crawled over to where Naruto sat, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her weary eyes as he pulled her closer, breathing in her scent. Naruto twirled his fingers in Hinata's long, blue hair as he retired himself to listening to her soft breathing.
Without warning, as Naruto closed his eyes, he was struck by a feeling of fear. They were making their way towards dangerous enemy territory, home of Pain, one of the strongest shinobi of the criminal organization Akatsuki. In retrospect, Naruto realized he knew absolutely nothing about the mysterious Akatsuki member, which heightened his fear evermore. Danger just meant the possibility of losing one more person he cared about. Chouji, Shino, Kiba, and Shikamaru. His childhood friends and teammates. And, the one he was most fearful for, the one in his arms, whom he instinctively drew into a closer embrace: Hinata.
"Hinata…" he couldn't help but whisper as his thoughts continued to plague his mind.
"Hm?"
He wanted to pour out his feelings to her, how much he cared, how scared he was, how completely useless he felt. Deep inside, though, Naruto knew he shouldn't drag Hinata down with him. She wasn't scared of the things he was scared of, or at least not yet. Ignorance was bliss. Trying to summarize everything he felt into a few words that wouldn't send shivers down her spine, he blurted out, "I love you."
Silence ensued as Naruto racked his brains for why he would possibly think that that was an accurate summation of what he was thinking. He cursed himself for stating such a statement out of the blue, and felt eternal torture as he waited for an inevitable response.
"I love you too," Hinata finally responded quietly, kissing him on the cheek.
Before she could retreat, Naruto instinctively cupped her face in his hand, bringing her lips up to his own, kissing her softly in the solitude of darkness. Upon feeling her lips respond and kiss him back, he drew her into his embrace tighter still. Every time Naruto thought of withdrawing, the thought of it possibly being their last kiss urged him to continued, locking their lips together even more. It felt to him like days had passed when Hinata finally released their hold, panting into his chest. He kissed her on the head, hugging her tightly. His resolve hardened. Nothing would tear her or the rest of his teammates away from him, lest they feel the wrath of Namikaze Naruto.
The impending silence was broken as Kiba's head poked through the tent, grinning sheepishly at the embrace he witnessed.
"Sorry to break up whatever you got going there," he whispered, "but I've taken up at least half of your shift, Hinata. Didn't want to disturb you but I need my rest too."
Hinata stammered her apologies as she got up to relieve Kiba of his duties. As she proceeded to exit the tent, she turned to give Naruto what looked like a look of longing and gratitude, as if he had released a huge burden she was carrying. He responded with a reassuring smile, one he hoped would tell her, Everything's gonna be alright.
Soon after she left, he followed suit, pushing away the tent flap to come face to face with Kiba. Naruto could see the initial mischievousness painted over his friend's face quickly being replaced by a serious look as he stared into Naruto's eyes.
"Something's up," Kiba stated, recognizing a flame burning inside Naruto that wouldn't be satiated, "what is it?"
"Our enemies won't know what hit them," Naruto declared confidently, "I'll crush them all flat.
"To Amegakure."
A/N: If you're an action-y sort of guy, it'll start getting interesting past this point (I promise) – I just wanted to emphasize the new close bonds Naruto now has with his teammates as an indirect result to the changes old Kakashi has made to the past. Past this point, you'll begin to see new pretty cool stuff that changed as well! Review if you like it so far!