NaruHina: Duty

Chapter 13: A Mission, Some Tea, and A Festival

As soon as they were at the halfway point, Hinata excused herself and went to change out of her uniform.

His eyes followed her as she headed a few yards away from him into the thickest part of the clearing.

Then he quickly turned around to keep watch and scanned for any threats.

She emerged a few minutes later in a simple, but elegant, black dress. It was casual, but even for him, who hardly paid attention to fashion, it looked expensive and tailor-made. It fit her body perfectly, hugging every curve, and he was tempted to keep on looking. He quickly slid his gaze to his bag to hide the fact that he'd been checking her out far longer than he should have.

He sighed, though, as he brought out a rough, brown cloak and shook it to release the wrinkles. "I guess I have to get into my disguise, too."

A few minutes later, he came out of the clearing, the same one she'd just been in, muttering, "Assistant, my ass. I'm basically a servant, then."

She stood waiting for him. A flicker of amusement quickly danced over her face but she tilted her head to the side in agreement.

It was gone in a flash, but Naruto had caught it, made him still his movements so he could stare at her face and search for it again, willing it to reappear.

But her eyes gave away nothing, only continued looking at him until one of her brows flicked up slightly in question. He'd stared long enough to make him feel rude for doing so.

"Sorry!"

She turned around, picked up her bag, and started walking again.

They arrived at their destination an hour later.

Isetan was a small village straddled by two large countries, the Fire Country to the north and the Village of the Mist to the west. It was a large enough town where people could hide, but small enough to escape severe scrutiny from Konoha. Lots of people were going in and out through this bustling trade post. With the constant activity, they both saw how perfect the town was in hiding anything that would threaten Konoha.

The people themselves were a bit rough, but since most were businessmen, they could be made to talk when money greased the negotiations.

They walked through the town and he watched as she discreetly scanned the town with her byakugan.

"I've worked with one of you Hyuugas before," he said as he also swept his gaze back and forth to observe the people. "I think his name was Koh? We were together only for a couple of days last month. Me and another shinobi named Sai. There'd been a flood and were sent to rescue some people stuck in their homes."

Without pausing in her scanning, she replied. "I heard about that, yes."

Nothing seemed suspicious at first glance. Like all trading towns, Isetan had the same air of busy-ness and the liveliness that marked it as a place for commerce.

At their hotel, Hinata's room became the hub of their operation. They brainstormed about the mission, with Naruto telling her about his abilities while she shared her own skills.

Hinata then ordered them a meal when they realized they were hungry and needed lunch.

He shoveled more rice into his mouth and watched her bowed head as she pored over the list of potential suspects that Shikaku had given them. Her own meal remained half-eaten on the table. But she placed the list down and picked up a map of the town.

"So today you'll hit the west part of town, and I'll get the east? Tomorrow we'll work on north and south?" she asked as she suddenly lifted her head and snared him in her gaze.