Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sensei does!
"The mission is what?" Kiba asked, dumbfounded.
The Land of Iron's daimyo encouraged the entourage of shinobi to sit in his opulent reception room. Two servant girls entered with trays of tea and refreshments.
The old man stroked his beard thoughtfully. "My family and I are," he groped for the right word, "…concerned. Mifune-san is gaining popularity with the people and we believe that the samurai might - well, that they attempt-"
"A coup." Sasuke took the words out of his mouth. So it was true - shinobi and samurai weren't so different after all.
"Leave it to an Uchiha to be so politically minded," he lamented.
"So, what does this have to do with us?" Naruto asked. It meant a lot that they'd go far enough to hire shinobi.
"I would like for you all to stay as guests in my home until these turbulent times are over. Should anything happen, I would feel much safer with some of Konoha's finest around."
"So, this is basically a paid vacation!" Kiba was gorging on the teacakes like they were his first meal in days.
"Essentially," the Feudal Lord agreed. "You may use all our facilities, and have the servants provide anything you desire, once at least two of you are in the house to protect us."
All six shinobi tried their hardest to curb their enthusiasm - even Shino had to bite back a grin. It had been so long since any of them got some serious time off.
"So, do you all accept?"
"YES, WE MOST DEFINITELY ACCEPT!" Naruto jumped up and answered for all of them.
"Very good then." The daimyo clapped twice and the servant girls stood at attention. "The ladies will show you all to your rooms."
—
"This is nice isn't it?" Sakura asked Hinata. The two had been given adjoining rooms.
The heiress was unable to meet the medic's eyes. "H-hai." She gulped. "S-Sakura-san, would you consider us friends?"
That was an odd question - outside of Ino, Hinata was her closest friend. The pink haired kunoichi crossed fully into Hinata's room. "Of course I do. What's the matter?"
Hinata looked down at her knees. "W-well, have you heard anything interesting lately regarding village and…clan matters?"
Sakura sighed and sat next to the dark haired girl. "I know what this is about." Hinata gasped - she thought the pinkette would be devastated. "So, you're worried your family won't accept your feelings for Naruto?"
"T-that is one of my concerns but-"
"Don't worry about it! He's the son of Yondaime Hokage! That's a very prestigious bloodline in itself."
Hinata tried to cage in the tears welling in her eyes. Nothing was more prestigious than the Uchiha clan. Her father had lost faith in her as a ninja and now only hoped to marry her off to someone powerful. It made her sick.
"Hey, don't cry!" Sakura pulled her friend into a hug. "Maybe you should try to talk to Naruto. He's very good at calming anxiety." The kunoichi winked. "I think he said he was going straight to the hot tub so…"
"Sakura-san!"
Sakura laughed. "Hinata, let me know if you need to talk more. I'm always here for you but I'm going to try and find Sasuke-kun."
"B-but that's what-"
"See you later!" The kunoichi waved enthusiastically. She drifted like a happy sailboat unaware of the typhoon that wished to take her under.
When Sakura left, Hinata pushed her face into a pillow and wept. Everything was all wrong.
—
Sasuke was drowning in the depths of his contemplation. He didn't think his family should overthrow Konoha - nothing good would come of it. It would surely lead to civil war, and perhaps even fighting on an international scale.
He didn't know what to make of Itachi lately. His older brother had always been a guiding force in his life, but now he could barely talk to him. Their parents had already written him off and now their expectations rested on Sasuke alone.
He loved his family, he truly did. But could he raise a hand against the village?
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's softer than cashmere voice sounded from just outside his room.
And could he abandon someone precious to him?
"Aa. Come in, Sakura."
She looked stunning in her nightclothes and bedroom slippers. "Everyone wants to go out for barbecue tonight so we're gonna draw straws to see who has to stay in."
"I'll stay," he said without hesitation.
Sakura bit her lip hesitantly. She was actually looking forward to going out with everyone.
"You can go." Sasuke read through her expression like he would an enemy's jutsu. "Have fun."
Sakura crawled into bed with him. "Sasuke-kun," she kissed the top of his shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"Hn. Nothing." He closed his eyes, once again unable to tell her the truth. Unable to break her heart.
She sighed, growing weary of his secretive nature. "Sasuke-kun, I know you well enough to see that you haven't been yourself. Talk to me."
He cast his obsidian eyes down at her. "You are so annoying." Why was she always like this? Hanging her heart out in the open like clothes on a line. "It's only a headache."
Sakura nodded. She had a feeling he was still worried about something. "Take your shirt off."
He smirked - so that's where her mind was. "Sakura, we're on a mission."
She giggled, placing a hand in front of her pink lips. "Relax. I'm just going to give you a massage." The medic's eyes did not bypass the visible tension in his shoulders.
"You should go before the others leave without you." He tried to keep up his cool facade although, as always, he was touched by her kindness.
"Oh be quiet." She effortlessly ripped his shirt off with her gargantuan strength. "Just lie down and think of how lucky you are."
In one of the bedside drawers the kunoichi found a bottle of lotion. She poured some onto her hands and started kneading the contours of Sasuke's muscular back. He sighed into her touch as the knots disappeared beneath her fingers.
She leaned down and nibbled his earlobe. "Honestly, what am I gonna do with you once you become clan head?"
Her statement triggered thoughts he knew he shouldn't have entertained. He dared to picture her bearing the Uchiha emblem, his name, and later, his children. "Sakura," his voice was husky - a hybrid of lust and affection. "Thank you."
Sasuke switched their positions and held the kunoichi's right foot between his hands. He dragged his knuckles slowly across her arch.
"Foot massage?" She hummed. "How come?" She never required him to return any of her little favors.
"Hn. Who knows? Maybe I love you today." He certainly wouldn't be doing this if he didn't.
"Just today?"
He smirked and shrugged. "Hn, yesterday too. Maybe tomorrow-"
"Sasuke-kun!" she whined. Even his confessions had to be smug.
"Sakura." They eyed each other the way Kakashi did his little books of questionable content.
His hands traveled further and further up the creamy skin of her legs. "We should lock the door."
"Aa."
There was no reason for anyone to disrupt what was coming next.
—
"N-Naruto-kun." Hinata's navy one piece bathing suit was covered by a fluffy white towel.
"Oi, Hinata come soak with me!" The blond said from the Jacuzzi.
The girl in question nearly fainted when faced with his godlike pectorals. She shook her head and took a few tentative steps toward the tub. Naruto reached his hand out to her and guided her into the water.
The jinchiruki almost drowned when her towel fell. He never noticed how physically developed she was. "H-Hinata, you should dress like that more often." He honestly did not mean it the way it came out, but one could only expect so much from the pupil of the pervy sage.
Hinata covered her blushing face with her hands. Dark bangs concealed her eyes. "N-N-Naruto-kun, please don't say things like that!" Her heart was beating a mile a minute.
"Why not?" He moved her hands away from her face. "Hinata is pretty, and curvy. Even better than my best sexy jutsu, dattebayo!"
"Naruto-kun, you're embarrassing me!" Her flush alone could have heated the tub.
"Come on, even that idiot Kiba says so all the time, but I told him there was no way Hinata would go out with someone like that!"
"W-Well, Kiba-kun isn't really my type-"
"Exactly! You're pretty, and strong, and smart, and really nice - Hinata should marry a Hokage or something like that!"
The Hyuga was sure there wasn't enough oxygen getting to her brain. Didn't he want to be Hokage? "N-Naruto-kun…married." And with that, she fainted promptly.
"Oi. Hinata! Hinata!"
She woke up, back in her room to find Naruto standing over her, fanning her with a magazine.
"N-Naru-"
"Are you alright, Hinata?" He pushed a glass of water in her face.
She sat up and found herself wrapped in a robe. She took a sip of the water. "I'm fine. This happens sometimes."
"I've noticed." She passed out almost every time he saw her. "Are you sure it's alright?"
"H-hai." Her face turned red again and Naruto put his hand on her forehead. She wasn't too warm, but he still wanted to keep an eye on her.
"Did everyone leave already?" Her team along with Naruto and Sakura agreed that they wanted to go out for dinner. "I-I'm sorry if I made you miss-"
"It's fine. Only Kiba ans Shino ended up going. I was trying to tell Sakura-chan and teme that they could have gone, but they were holed up in a room together as usual."
Hinata's mood turned somber once again, then she remembered Sakura's words earlier. "Naruto-kun, do you think you can give me some advice?"
"Sure!" Our favorite knucklehead ninja seemed to double as a life coach.
"What would you say to someone whose parents are trying to force them to do something they don't want to do?"
Naruto's expression went blank momentarily. "Well, the thing is, I was never in the situation to live with my parents so I'm probably all wrong about this stuff. However, part of my ninja way is to stand by my ideals no matter what, and I believe you're like me in that way, Hinata."
The long haired girl nodded. "Hai."
Naruto grinned widely. "I always liked people like you."
Hinata couldn't help herself when she kissed him.