Chapter 12 - Day 6 Afternoon – Day 7 Evening
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Note: Hello Loves! I'm trying to keep more to a monthly update at least and right now the story seems to be writing itself so that helps haha. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, it really does uplift me. I'm very aware that you would all like to read a chapter from Naruto's perspective but he seems to be quieter (believe it or not) when I'm writing. I am thinking of writing a few chapters from his POV later but they might be more of a retrospective after the story ends. I am also considering shifting this and my other stories to A03, given that I do not know how ahem detailed the following chapters will be. I will keep you all updated. ~ All my love, Luna
Their fingers interwined, resting on the smooth skin of her stomach, heat collecting between their bodies. Her other hand pressed to the headboard for leverage as she arched her back to meet him. The warmth coiling low in her belly under their hands. Eyes closed and mouth open to pull air into her lungs she was surrounded by his scent, sunshine and something earthier and she let the moan pass her lips. Her leg was hooked over the top of his behind her, giving him better access. "Hinata," it was a low growl against the skin of her neck.
Hinata's mind rose from sleep slowly, not at all like the kunoichi she had been trained to be. The warmth beneath the covers was deliciously welcoming and her body and mind rejected the idea of rising to begin the trip again. She could hear Naruto breathing quietly behind her, felt his back pressed to hers and knew it was partly his warmth that was calling to her. She knew they needed to rise, finish applying their disguises and leave but she allowed herself a moment longer to absorb the comfort. A second later Naruto stirred behind her and moved away to stretch himself to wakefulness. Hinata prepared herself to roll to sitting and greet him but paused as she felt him jerk to a halt. There was a small noise behind her and then the covers pulled just slightly as Naruto sat up quickly. Another moment of quiet and then she felt the gentle brush of his hand ever so lightly over her hair. Another stroke and then he leaned closer and said quietly, "Hinata?"
She let her eyes open slowly and rolled just far enough to look up at him as he braced himself beside her. "Naruto-kun, did you rest well?" A smile split his face, whisker marks standing out on his cheeks. "Were you awake?" he asked, his hand brushing along the fan of her hair over her shoulder and pillow, almost as if he did not realize he was doing it. It jolted through her that the gentle touch before had been him trying to wake her, not a stolen caress as her heart had hoped when he had first reached to touch her. Annoyed once again with herself for reading too far into actions that had very practical reasons, she nodded and answered truthfully, "It was so warm, I wanted to wait a minute before rising." His grin seemed to grow and then he startled her with a quiet laugh before brushing a light kiss to her mouth. "I know what you mean."
Hinata did not mean to but her body jerked just slightly at the contact of his mouth to hers, the fact that they were lying next to each other, bodies warm and close effecting her reaction more than it would have if they had been standing with space between them. Naruto stilled, smile sliding from his face and blue eyes finding hers. "I…" she started to say but fell quiet as Naruto slid his hand from her hair to press lightly on her shoulder, urging her to roll fully to face him. Obliging she moved fully to her back, one hand resting on the pillow next to her head. "Are you alright?" He asked quietly, making no further moves to touch her. Hinata nodded slowly and let a small smile curve her lips, could tell her cheeks were slightly pinkened and wished she could will it away. "I'm fine Naruto-kun, I…" her words trailed off as she saw a flash, a fuzzy image against the backdrop of her mind. A dream perhaps, too fuzzy to remember with the light of day spilling muted below the blackout curtains. Her face flamed all the same, a heat curling low in her stomach, telling her enough about the content of the dream. "What? Hinata?" Naruto asked, sounding genuinely concerned. His hand brushed her cheek and Hinata started again, looking away and closing her eyes in embarrassment.
Naruto was quiet for a minute and then slowly "We should get going." Hinata continued to keep her head turned away, eyes closed and resisted the urge to cover her face. "You know, I haven't seen you this red since we were younger," Naruto continued. She made a sound that was close to a squeak and heard him laugh roughly above her. There was a shift of weight on the mattress and then his mouth brushed her cheek, grazed down to the edge of her jaw. "Hinata, is this too much? We haven't talked further training" he said quietly, pulling back from her jaw and she hoped he couldn't see the goosebumps rising. She took a slow breath and tried to calm her embarrassment. This was not helping the mission, and the fact that Naruto felt the need to ask about something as simple as a kiss when they'd been pressed together in his kitchen just the evening before made it all the more obvious. Tentatively, she moved her face back, eyes opening to look for his. "I'm sorry Naurto-kun, I'm not sure what…" but her words trailed off again, another image flashing through her mind and she used every ounce of her training to push the image away. "I'm fine," she settled for, instead of a longer sentence and forced herself not to look away. "Hmm," was his only reply, still bracing himself next to her, no longer so close and that helped she was ashamed to admit to herself.
"Let's get going," he said as he turned away to rise from the bed. Hinata used the moment his back was turned to put both hands over her face, took a shaky breath and rolled to sit on her side of the bed. Beginning a breathing exercise that would bring her mind under better control she began to move around the room collecting the items she would need to prepare for the next leg of the trip. She could hear Naruto doing the same behind her and turned to find him pulling his shirt over his head. She blinked and hesitated only a second before moving to pass him and step into the bathroom. She knew that at some point they were going to have to be comfortable changing in the same space, being in less or more revealing clothing but she couldn't just yet.
Hinata double checked the contacts in her eyes, put the drops Sakura had given her and blinked several times. She used the facilities, washed her hands and quickly changed into light blue leggings and a comfortable midnight blue/black sweater dress that reached the top of her thighs, just long enough to cover her backside. It would allow her the movement she needed to travel quickly and help her to start to wrap her new persona around herself before they reached the village.
Hinata stepped from the small bathroom a moment later, expecting Naruto to move past her to change but he was already dressed in loose travel pants similar to his usually ninja uniform and long sleeve shirt that hugged tighter to his body than his jacket, with a vest over it, not a shinobi vest but still one that she could tell had reinforced panels underneath. His blond hair just a few shades darker but his blue eyes the same brilliant bright blue ringed by darker ocean colors. He had looked up at her when she had opened the door, let his eyes slide over her and she saw a small frown crease his brow. "Are you wearing any protection?" he asked. Hinata blinked, surprised by the question. Then nodded with a small smile, "The leggings and dress are made of special material. Not as good as a flak jacket maybe but similarly reinforced as my usual clothes for missions." She saw the crease ease and his body relax a bit.
"We need to put your contacts in Naruto-kun. Are you ready for me to show you how?"
He nodded and pulled the items he would need from his bag. She showed him to the bathroom and walked him through the process, helped by the fact that he had watched her put hers in the other day. He blinked several times after they were in and then turned to look directly at her instead of at the mirror. She took a minute to take in the change. "Last thing is the make-up for your markings," she said quietly. Naruto looked back at the mirror and raised a hand to touch his cheeks, "Going to be strange seeing myself without them." She smiled and nodded agreement, then moved to get the makeup from her bag where she had stashed it with her own to ward off suspicion should their things ever be searched. Returning to the bathroom she found Naruto seated on the toilet much as he had been earlier that morning. She brushed his hair from his forehead gently after putting down her supplies. He smiled up at her and she took a selfish minute to trace the whisker marks on his cheeks before beginning to apply the makeup.
Several minutes later she pulled back and surveyed his face again, making sure that everything was covered and set to her expectations. Nodding to herself, she began to gather everything back together and stepped back to allow Naruto enough room to rise beside her. As he rose his hand brushed along the back of her neck, curving around to cup the back of her head before sliding up to run fingers through her ponytail. She shivered lightly and looked up to catch his eyes in the mirror. But he was not looking at her face, was looking instead at his hand in her hair. Then his hand moved back to her neck, slid down her back to mold the soft material of her dress to her skin beneath. Her breath hitched just slightly as his hand came to rest against the small of her back, just brushing against the top of her backside. Then his other hand touched her stomach, directly over the spot she could still feel as a shadow from the dream and her body went from a pleasant warmth at his touch to a low burn, and she felt the warmth begin in her cheeks. This touch felt somehow even more intimate than if he had touched her hip. Then he was sliding his hands along her belly and back, gliding at the same time to catch her hips and turn her to face him. She let him move her, no resistance in her, setting down the supplies in her hands as he did so. She could not quite bring herself to look up at him, looking instead at the v dip at the top of his tight shirt. Her hands settled on his waist, just beneath the edge of the light vest he wore. The warmth of him seeped through into the palms of her hands, brushed the front of her body as it radiated from his. A hand came up to cup the back of her neck, the base of her skull and tip her face to look at him. "We still have a ways to go, are you okay with a fast pace again?" He asked, his voice sounding normal, as if they weren't standing inches from each other in an embrace many would have called intimate. She met his eyes, now a darker green, blinked and nodded. Once again caught by the fact that he appeared to be mostly unaffected by their proximity, their touch. The attraction, the heat was there, but easily controlled, and she pushed the renewed hurt away. It was so easy for him, no feelings to push his limits. She cringed internally, heat seeping away slowly. Then she pulled back, just enough to let him feel her intent and he dropped his hand. She pulled hers away as well and stepped away to gather the supplies.
—
The pace was grueling after they left the inn, moved through the small village and reached the trees again. The shadowed trail was speckled with orange and red at the edges of the trees, markers of a setting sun but as they moved deeper into the forest those colors grew more muted. Less orange and red, more burnt burgundy, and then deep purple. They moved to the upper limbs and were off.
—
Hours later, as the moon sprinkled new light between the leaves above them Hinata watched Naruto in front of her. His movements were graceful, chakra controlled and easily used. She thought back to the boy he had been. So angry, a powerhouse of chakra and indignation. Loud and mischievous, prankster and troublemaker. She tried to think of when exactly she had started to feel more from him than curiosity. It was a thought she had contemplated many times. There was that time when they were younger and he had saved her from bullies. But no, that had been more gratitude than love, too young to really understand what love was. That time she had seen him sitting outside the academy, alone in the swing beneath the ancient shade tree? She thinks maybe that is when it started, when the shift occurred. She had still been too young to recognize it as love but could almost remember the flutter in the pit of her stomach. She had wanted so badly to go to him, he had been so alone. It made her heart ache even now. Back then the feeling had been more innocent. Now, well, now her feelings were evolving. She could admit to herself, and only to herself, that she had begun to feel the physical attraction when she was a pre-teen. Nothing so blazing or consuming as what she had felt with him over the past week. Even as they had matured into adults she had kept that part of her feelings, the yearning for physical touch, tightly buried in herself. Tried to ignore her body's reaction to the man he had become, because nothing was going to come of it. It was hard enough dealing with the emotions of love, caring, friendship, empathy without mixing lust of any kind in. And she hoped she was being honest with herself when she considered what her future would be. At some point she would have stopped following in his shadow, would have allowed her father to arrange a marriage for her. She wanted a family someday. Would love to have children, even if those children did not have blonde hair and blue ocean eyes.
Hinata blinked in the moonlight and found that her vision was misted over with barely there tears. Now, she knew what it was to feel him around her. Feel his hands on her skin, his lips on hers. From warmth and admiration to a livewire. She knew what it was to have his attention, his care. Though she chastened herself, it was still as a teammate, a partner for a mission. Her eyes traced his back, watched his shoulders move beneath the vest as he moved from branch to branch. She knew what his skin felt like, had tasted it. Feeling the flush creep up her neck and over her cheeks she shook her head. Would it be like this for the rest of her life? Would she be able to marry another man, let him touch her? She found her heart and body rejecting the very idea and tried to console herself with the knowledge that after the mission she would have time to put herself back together. She would have the time to push her feelings down and bury them again and maybe one day, she would be open to it. If her heart ever recovered, because she was having a harder and harder time guarding it now. The small touches, him brushing his hand over her hair that afternoon, were breaking through her defenses faster than the 'training' they had been forced to do. Because those small touches were less the training and more Naruto himself, bleeding through naturally as he always did. Purely based on the nature of the mission and the training he was allowing the touches that would have never happened before, and so was she. Brushing his hair back, settling her hands on his waist. These were not touches that she would have allowed before now. She shivered at the remembered feel of his hands on her lower back and abdomen. The dream slipped through now, hazy but clear enough to have her blushing harder again. She had dreamt of him, not something new, though the dream had gone further than any other dream before, more detailed now because she knew what it felt like to be touched by him. She pushed the dream down, not wanting it in the space between them. It was too much, and Hinata found herself clenching her hand over her stomach. She shook her head, dropped her hand and pushed her focus into the chakra she was using to hold her to the branches, the speed of their travel.
—
The sun had risen, crossed the midpoint of the sky, the trees growing further apart, the air heavier with mist and humidity when Naruto signaled that they should stop. She landed lightly next to him on a branch of a large tree, leaves swaying around them giving their perch a bit of cover from eyes below should anyone pass. They were slightly off the trail. The likelihood that they would be overheard or seen was small but they would still take precautions. Naruto reached out a hand to steady her when she swayed slightly. They had redistributed the packs a bit, him carrying more of the weight. Hinata had been in the village for a while, had kept up on her training but she wasn't quite as used to using this level of chakra for a sustained period of time as she used to be. Naruto slid closer, keeping his hand on her upper arm. "Are you doing alright?" he asked lowly. She nodded, still using chakra to hold her steady along with the muscles she needed to naturally balance on the rough bark. She pulled her canteen off the back of her pack and sipped lightly on the water. He released her with a nod and did the same. "We should eat something, and I think we should stop at the village a way up ahead and rest for the night. We can head out in the morning and finish the trip." Naruto continued after securing his canteen. He was not looking at her so he missed her grimace.
"We will lose another day that way, Naruto-kun. We will have to slow down a bit as we near the resort, we do not want to pull attention by rushing into the town." She was anxious to get there, to begin gathering information. Tsubasa could not be allowed to take another life, another bloodline limit. Naruto was looking at her now, eyes taking in her frown. "We were ordered not to push and we still need to rest so that we can start when we get there. It will not do any good if we are exhausted and lose a day recovering anyway." His voice was low still, sliding along her nerves, and she could see his logic. Surprised by his level manner, she blinked and then smiled at him. "I would have thought our roles would be reversed, you pushing for a faster pace while I counseled rest." His smile was quick and the sharpness of his canines seemed more exaggerated without the whiskers on his cheeks. "Yea, me too" he chuckled lightly. A quiet moment followed as they pulled food from their packs and moved to rest against the trunk of the tree to eat.
—
Hinata agreed to rest at the village for the night before they left their perch in the tree. Later they dropped to the ground, slowing their pace to amble into the village as the sun was dropping close to sunset. They were sweaty, and though they had traveled most of the way in the trees, bits of debris clung to them. Not so much dust as the remnants of bark and leaves. They took several minutes to adjust their appearance to appear to have been traveling at a more sedate pace on the path. Stepping to the path, Naruto started an easy conversation filled with his usual energy and excitement about the home they would have. He slipped so easily into their story, settling in. Hinata smiled at him, pulling her own mask to her. She let herself smile and talk with him quietly.
—
They reached an inn just after sunset. Naruto led her in and spoke to the older gentleman behind the desk, requesting a room. The older man gave him a lopsided smile and took Naruto's payment. "You both look exhausted, traveled far?"
Naruto rubbed the back of his head in a gesture Hinata had seen so many times before and laughed. "We've been walking since this morning; we appreciate the chance to rest." Hinata nodded with a small tired smile. The man nodded, "Well, my wife makes a small dinner every night. If you're interested in staying in just let us know and we can bring you something for a small charge. There are hot springs down the road if you'd rather do that."
Naruto kept his smile and nodded his thanks as he took the key to their room. "We will discuss it in our room and let you know. Thank you again." The man nodded and gestured to a hallway on his right, "Your room is the second to last on the right, room 8."
—
The door closed behind them and Hinata felt Naruto lifting the pack from her back, helping her. She blinked in the burnished light of the room and hissed in a breath as the pack left her shoulders. Naruto set it down against the wall and shrugged his off to place it beside hers. "Arigato Naruto-kun" she said quietly as she reached up to rub at her sore neck and shoulders. She looked at him as he rolled his shoulders and nodded with a smile. "No problem Hinata-chan."
She turned to look around the room, slightly bigger than the one they had rented just the morning before and her eyes fell on the bed. It too was slightly bigger. She felt the flutter in her stomach but resolutely pushed it down. Hands on her shoulders did not startle her, she had half expected it. Naruto seemed to be more physically affectionate than she had every thought he would be, and she could not jump every time he touched her or the mission would be a failure. "Do you want to go to the hot springs?" he asked and his hands moved lightly over her shoulders, not massaging so much as lightly rubbing. She closed her eyes all the same and hummed in agreement. "That would be nice, then we can eat dinner."
There was a light brush against her temple, Naruto's lips warm on her skin before he pulled back from her and left the room to speak with the innkeeper.
—
He came back several minutes later with directions and a small straw bag the innkeep had given him to carry their supplies and a change of clothes. Hinata gathered her things and they set off.
The walk was quiet between them, walking close together and letting their hands brush by their sides. The people of the village mostly ignored them, or gave them cursory glances. Hinata kept a pleasant expression on her face and made little eye contact.
When they reached the baths, they separated after paying the light fee. Naruto taking his clothes and supplies with him and leaving her with the bag as he headed to the men's side.
The water was wonderful on her tired muscles after Hinata shed her dirty clothing, tucking them in a cubby with her other supplies. There were stools near faucets to wash the rest of the travel from her skin and hair. She washed quickly and headed for the hot springs. The towel she had wrapped around her now folded on the rock behind her and she let her head rest against it. Let the water buoy her body and her muscles relax. She closed her eyes, though her senses remained alert and she could hear the quiet conversations of women around her, and the voices of the men on the other side of a large wall that divided the baths. For a second she thought she heard Naruto's bright laugh, smiling to herself. After a decent amount of time had passed, Hinata forced herself to rise from the water, wrapping the towel around her body and heading into the changing room. She dried quickly and pulled on a soft dress that fell past her knees, a light sweater covered her arms. The dress was a light pink, the sweater a darker version. She wandered out to the reception area to see Naruto waiting for her on a low stool. Quickening her pace, she reached out to brush his shoulder as she reached him. He was already looking at her but she indulged herself with the small touch. "Gomen, I hope you weren't waiting too long Kei-kun."
The assumed name fell from her lips with no effort, helped in part by his changed appearance. He smiled up at her, and got to his feet. "No, no. I just got here. Ready to head back to the inn?"
She nodded and followed him out.