Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Author's Notes: So this story steps well outside my comfort zone. Not that I've never read something similar in books or otherwise but writing it and then POSTING it goes against many of the alarm bells ringing in my head. I've received some very wonderful feedback on my other stories and decided to take a chance. If you do not like stories such as these please just move on to something else. I won't claim expertise in writing this type of story either so for those of you who do enjoy stories like this hang in there with me and comment. I would love to improve. As always, Thank you!

~Luna

NOW

Hinata couldn't quite believe the situation she was in, or the boldness of her own behavior. When she'd met Naruto to train she hadn't planned on straddling his lap wearing a sinfully short skirt and nipping at his earlobe.

A kunoichi's life was very rarely predictable, or sane but Hinata found that some things were generally constant. For instance, when you get assigned a mission with the man you've loved for years, you get both excited and nervous. When that mission turns out to be a rather risqué one you get embarrassed and pray to Kami that you don't make a fool of yourself. The fact that Hinata had shocked all of her teachers by passing her seduction classes with marks higher than all but two other kunoichi in the history of the village should have prepared her. And it had, she had completed a near record breaking number of seduction missions. She just hadn't been prepared to have to use those skills on Naruto. Or more accurately with Naruto to seduce information out of a man like Tsubasa Yoji.

Tsubasa Yoji, was a wealthy man currently neck deep in the black market that targeted kekai genkai users. Being a kekai genkai user herself, Hinata was more than willing to help bring him in. She was determined to stop him, because Tsubasa was very good at what he did, his file was thick with the names of his victims. The only problem being that he was also very good at covering his tracks. Konoha was aware of his participation in this black market only because of Ibiki's rather thorough interrogation of an associate of Tsubasa's a little over a week ago. This associate was no longer in his right mind and wouldn't be participating in any more illegal activities but he had divulged the fact that Tsubasa had set up several hits in the next month. Prior to those hits he would be on vacation at one of his favorite villages in the Land of Water.

This village held a reputation for having several clubs that catered to various interests. Tsubasa's associate had been kind enough to tell Ibiki all about Tsubasa's interests. None of which turned out to be innocent. He liked subtlety, nothing to overboard but that seemed to make the Hokage think that Hinata was the best person for the job. What made her think that Naruto of all people was the right partner for Hinata in this mission Hinata would never know.

THEN

When she'd been called to the Hokage's office and received her mission she hadn't thought much of it until Tsunade had said Naruto's name. That had brought Hinata to sharp attention and caused her to blush rather embarrassingly. She had quietly asked the Hokage why Naruto had been selected and Tsunade had answered with patience. A testament to the fact that Hinata very rarely questioned her superior about anything.

"Tsubasa likes to watch the subtle interplay between men and women. He apparently has a bit of an interest in observing this interplay between people with differing personalities, the file will give you more detail." Tsunade said easily.

"Hai, Hokage-sama but Naruto-kun is…" Hinata began quietly but found herself drifting off in uncertainty.

"He's powerful, quite possible the most powerful being alive today and certainly the most powerful in this village, disregarding Sasuke and even then I'm not sure it's anything less than a tie if you push it." Tsunade's voice was firm and sure.

"Hai" Hinata couldn't really argue that fact and she didn't really want to, but she found her mind racing to find something that would disqualify the blond shinobi from the mission. When nothing came to her she sighed and lowered her head.

"Hokage-sama, I'm not sure that Naruto and I would work well together." She said finally.

Tsunade raised any eyebrow and tapped her fingernail on the desk in front of her. "Really? I was under the impression that you and he had developed a friendship of sorts." Her eyebrow lowered and she frowned at Hinata. "Am I mistaken?" "No, Hokage-sama." Hinata winced, she didn't really want to tell Tsunade the real reason.

After her confession in the battle with Pein Hinata had expected Naruto to be awkward with her, to be uncomfortable in her presence and to avoid her. It had been the opposite. He had been wonderfully kind and even caring. Naruto actively sought her out on several occasions and made it obvious that he was trying to take their relationship to another level. It just happened that the level he was aiming for was friendship, a close cherished friendship but that was it. He'd never spoken outright about her confession and had never made a confession of his own in either direction. Hinata was left to assume that while he cared for her it didn't mirror her own feelings. She was happy to have a relationship with him in any capacity. But the thought of completing a mission where she would have to be sexual in almost every sense if not every way with Naruto made her heart ache and her stomach flip.

After a moment Hinata shook her head and straightened. Tsunade smiled, "I have no doubt you will perform your duty admirably. However, I would suggest that you meet with Naruto once a day for the next week and a half. For several hours if possible to build an ease and comfort with each other that will be essential to this mission. Do I need to detail the…Training….that I wish you to complete in that time?"

Hinata blushed crimson and cursed her fair skin, "No, Hokage-sama. I am aware of the training that is necessary." "Then you are dismissed, on your way out would you please send Naruto in?" There was a wicked glint in Tsunade's eyes as she asked this last question and Hinata fought to control her discomfort. "Of course" she said before bowing and turning to exit the office. "Oh and Hinata?" As the pale eyed kunoichi turned Tsunade smiled a pleasant smile, "I'll be sending Ino over with clothes for your mission. They've been specifically chosen, particularly those for the club. And I'll send the file with the information pertinent to the mission with Naruto. Should I tell him to meet you somewhere or would you like to set it up?" Hinata exhaled carefully and said "I'll set it up with him before I leave, thank you for your consideration Hokage-sama".

There had been the implied need to acquaint themselves more intimately. Even the suggestion that physicality would mean everything to the success of the mission. Naturally that provided a good starting point for preparation. It didn't ease Hinata's nerves in the slightest. She'd been surprised by Naruto's seemingly easy acceptance of the mission.

He was relaxed, excited by the prospect of catching Tsubasa. The fact that he would have to work so closely with Hinata made him happy and all he had to say on the topic was, "This will be fun, we haven't worked a mission just the two of us before!"

Hinata had begun to think that he didn't understand the full extent of the mission, she'd been working up the nerve to ask him and explain if necessary when he'd shocked her by admitting, "I'll need your help with this, I missed all the seduction classes when I was training with Ero-Senin. I have practical experience but I'm not sure how well that will tie in to the control aspect of this. " Blushing just a little while rubbing the back of his head.

So Naruto set the tone for discussing the mission though Hinata scolded herself for expecting anything less than a head on approach. Blushing herself and unable to do anything about it or stop it from deepening she smiled a small smile and said, "Ano, that's okay Naruto-kun. I've had the training and I'll help you as much as you need. "

Hinata decided that the only way to make it through this mission and have any chance of success would mean putting her feeling for him aside. Focusing on being completely professional was the only way and Hinata was good at her job. She'd trained hard and when fighting hadn't been her strongest asset she'd made herself useful in every way she could. Her softer nature and temperament made missions requiring a lighter touch ideal. And her figure as she'd matured as well as her natural sensuality that had developed with that figure made seduction simple for her. She was understandably confident in her abilities in that area and it wasn't the first time she'd had a partner on a seduction mission, male or female.

Seduction missions were rare, especially for male shinobi but that didn't mean that they weren't a reality. Each member of the village who wanted to remain on active duty understood they could be assigned to one. There were of course those who showed an affinity for them, like Hinata.

As a consequence she'd been sent on more than all of her peers except Ino who had different qualities and a confidence that made her an ideal counterpart to Hinata for some of the missions. They were often paired together, an easy duality that almost always guaranteed success. Hinata had developed a close relationship with Ino because of this and thought briefly of calling her in to help. Deciding that doing so would be cowardly she pushed the idea away as a last resort.

Steeling herself she looked at Naruto and asked, "How much experience do you have Naruto-kun?" Even as she asked this she knew she would have to answer the same question to him. She waited patiently as his blush deepened and he looked away. "How specific?" he asked. "As specific as you can", a pause and then wincing she said "without details." Naruto answered in his usual casual frankness despite his blush. "I've had sex more than once." Hinata nodded and ignored the pang in her chest and the slightly queasy feeling in her stomach.

As shinobi they lived lives constantly in danger of ending too soon. So many died before reaching thirty that they often lived fast, hard and with a small amount of desperation. Very few even made it to twenty and less than that waited much past sixteen or eighteen to have intercourse. It was an accepted fact and considered tactless to ask or pass judgment when it came to this decision. Contrary to what most of the village believed the Hyugga though a prominent clan, was a shinobi clan. They followed the same unspoken rules as most other shinobi. They just imposed more of their own rules on their clan members.

Naruto waited quietly and if he was uneasy with learning her level of experience he didn't show it. It hurt her just a little that he wouldn't care, that he didn't share her feelings and she wondered briefly if this mission might help her to grow numb to those feelings, maybe even help her to move on.

Looking him straight in the eye in an unexpected show of confidence she said, "I've had the same level of experience, so we'll be better off than if one of us was behind the other. " He seemed momentarily shocked and mildly surprised.

"We should decide where to begin, we need to be… comfortable with each other. Touching will be important and we need to be able to convince anyone watching, especially Tsubasa that we've been and are intimate with each other." she said looking away at the last part of the last sentence.

Naruto nodded seemingly recovered from her revelation. Tilting his head sideways and squinting his eyes in the way he often did when he was younger he said "We should also see each other in something else besides our uniforms to help adjust to how we'll look on the mission. It should eliminate the chance for surprise reactions." It was a logical proposal and Hinata had been thinking much the same thing, she'd just hoped to leave that until later to allow time to adjust to touching each other.

After an initial awkward start they settled on taking slow steps. They sat cross-legged across from each other and it was Hinata who took the initiative and held her hand out to him. Naruto was an affectionate person. He was quick to touch and quite comfortable with being touched with very few exceptions. So he didn't hesitate to reach out and take Hinata's hand. Then raised his other and offered it. He was familiar with the feel of her chakra simply from proximity and he closed his eyes and let the calming waves wash over him seeming to enjoy the feeling on his skin where their hands touched. Hinata wasn't as relaxed at first but she settled in and as the awkwardness dissipated she closed her eyes as well.

After a short time she opened her eyes and releasing his hands slid her hands up his arms. Moving to kneel before him she took a silent breath and slid her hands from his forearms to his biceps. Naruto's eyes had opened but retained their lazy haze. He didn't seem bothered at all by her touch and her heart clenched. When he offered no resistance she moved on to his shoulders and paused. "Is there anywhere you are uncomfortable with me touching you?" she asked quietly. She registered a second later the suggestions of the question when it came to their mission and flushed slightly.

Naruto watched the flush rise and smiled before answering "I can't think of anywhere". She nodded and figuring it was in for a penny in for a pound she slid her hand across his shoulders and down to his chest tracing his collarbones. Without meaning to she let her training kick in. Her touch remained light but with more pressure than she would have like on her own skin. Moving her hands to his pectorals Hinata used her nails to scrape just lightly enough to drag against the material of his jacket. At that Naruto did jump. She stopped and realizing her eyes were half lidded and her mind and body were immersed in the sensation of soft cloth over hard flesh she blinked and pulled her hands away. "I…" she began but Naruto interrupted her with "My turn."

Her eyes widened a little as his hands settled on her shoulders and she worked to keep her reaction to herself. Holding still she watched his eyes follow his hands as they slid down her arms and across her hands before returning to her shoulders and ghosting up her neck sliding beneath her hair and then around and up to her face. There he paused a second before moving his fingers across her cheeks and then up to ghost over her lashes after her eyes closed.

Removing his hands he settled them on his knees. Hinata opened her eyes and was grateful that she'd managed to hold still while he'd touched her. It wasn't like with others and she'd come to the realization that no amount of training was going to allow her to remain completely unaffected by Naruto's touch. In a way that would help the mission the professional side of her pointed out. The more real the reactions the more believable it would be.

Then she frowned, that meant that there was a problem on Naruto's end. He was unaffected by her touch, it would be harder to convince Tsubasa of a relationship between them. "What is it?" Naruto asked, a furrow forming between his brows and a frown on his mouth to match hers. "Did I push too hard?", "No, That's not it. You did fine, it's just something else. She said quietly and tried to think of a way to explain without giving away to much of her own reaction. "It's just that I'm not sure we have enough time to make this believable." She sighed and sat carefully back to allow the blood to resume normal flow in her legs.

She rubbed them to ease the tingling and then jumped when Naruto's hands settled over hers. "It'll be alright. We can do it. We just need more time. We've only just started" he reassured her. He wore his foxy grin and it succeeded where his works did not in getting her to smile.

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