Chapitre 26: chapter 26
Naruto awoke the next morning to find Hinata already gone. In her place was a note saying that she turned off his alarm so he could sleep in a little, not that his biological clock actually let him lay about for too long. Since he wasn't one to sit around and do nothing, he got out of bed and got ready for his day. One of his first tasks was to remake his traveling pack so he would be ready in case a new mission came up. Being as the last one only took a couple days, he didn't have too much to replenish. A set of clothes and some ration bars for his scroll and some kunai to go in his pouch.
Next on his list was his laundry. He already had his clothes from the mission soaking overnight, but they still needed washed, so he made a clone to take care of that little chore without a second thought while he made himself some breakfast. With the basics out of the way, his next step was the organization of everything he managed to get from the bandits they conquered. He didn't really want to call it a fight much less a battle. Usually those entailed them getting at least some scratches. Something that just wasn't the case in this instance. Unfortunately, before he could dive into those storage scrolls he heard the door to the house open and close.
"Naruto!" Hinata's voice rang out through the ground floor.
"Out back Hinata!" He quickly packed up what he had out and stowed it away for later as he got up and headed for the door. They almost collided as Hinata rushed out to meet him, and only a quick grab and twirl kept them from falling to the ground. "Careful Hinata-chan, wouldn't want to get us too hurt, though we could use it as an excuse to stay in bed all day."
She at least had the decency to blush before remembering why she came home. "I requested that you take the lead of our mission today. I hope you don't mind, you said it would be ok..." Her pleading eyes were too much for him to bare. Even if he'd wanted to stay home alone he wouldn't have been able to resist.
"Sure, let me just grab some things and we can go." He walked past her and bound up the stairs to his room.
"You don't want to know why?" Hinata yelled up after him.
The sound of objects moving around told her that Naruto was getting some things he would need for a mission. It seemed a little odd to her considering he didn't even know where they were headed or for how long. "You want me to go along, and you didn't want the person that was assigned to you to go. Do I need any other reason then that?" He walked out of his room and hopped down the steps, catching her in a hug as he stopped himself. "Besides, we get to spend more time together. Shall we go?"
"H-hai!" An excited Hinata and happy Naruto walked out the front gate to meet the waiting Harume. "Harume-chan, he's coming with, so we can get our mission now."
The girl turned towards them from her spot at the wall. "Cool, this'll be a lot better than that stuck up prick they tried to give us. For the betterment of the mission my ass." She huffed and started to lead the way towards the mission hall.
"You girls didn't get a mission yet?"
"They wouldn't let us pick one up without our sensei or an approved leader present. I guess you're the only one that got special permission to do that. Really, would it have been so bad to give us a couple of D-ranks and be done with it?" Harume grumbled her opinions back to them.
"Well, don't worry about it too much. Mine was a special case..."
"Yeah, you were the Hokage's favorite little ninja." She retorted.
Naruto cast a sideways look at Hinata, who just rolled her eyes in return and mouthed the word 'period'. He nodded in understanding. He recalled the explanation from when he was helping Hinata and Haku with there medical studies. Suffice it to say that he knew more about the female's inner workings than most males probably should. Of course he had learned a lot of it while Hinata was passed out since she couldn't get very far talking about anatomy when he was right next to her.
"Well regardless, we'll get our mission soon enough. What rank do you two want?" He knew he had to emphasize when he got confused looks. "Chūnin remember? We can technically get anything up to low B-rank, but since it'll only be three of us I'm going to limit us to low C-rank at most. Same thing I did with Ino and Chōji."
"I-I think we could go for a low C...What do you think Harume-chan?"
"Sure, whatever."
Naruto leaned over closer to Hinata to whisper in her ear. "I think I can see why Shino is having a 'clan meeting'." His comment earned him an elbow to the ribs which he mock pouted as he rubbed the 'wound'.
"That's not very nice Naruto-kun."
"Maybe not, but it was funny." He stuck out his tongue at her and was shocked a bit to find it quickly captured. He stood there, frozen for a few seconds trying to figure out what happened as Hinata laughed and yelled at him to hurry up. Shaking himself out of his daze he rushed up behind her and scooped her up into his arms, causing her to laugh louder as he started to run towards the mission hall, leaving Harume to grumble in their wake.
They waited patiently outside the building for her to arrive as they chatted about nothing in particular. When She finally showed up, all three headed inside to grab their mission. The chūnin behind the desk was one that Naruto hadn't seen before, nor had he ever seen the long-haired, brunette man that was leaning against the wall off to the side. He had expected to walk right in and get their mission, but it seemed as though these two had other plans.
"I see you finally decided to show back up...Hinata." The brunette man looked at them, revealing white, pupiless eyes. "Are you ready now for your mission. I have picked out a satisfactory B-rank for us."
Naruto had stiffened the moment he'd heard the man talk. When he saw the man's eyes, confirming his clan, his eyes narrowed. Then he heard what mission the man chose and his anger rose. "You planned on taking two genin on a B-rank mission. What are you, nuts?"
"I don't believe this concerns you genin. This is my choice as their temporary squad leader. Now if you'll excuse us, we have a mission to attend to." The male Hyūga made to escort the two girls out of the room, but found Naruto already in his way. "Move, boy."
"Oh I think not. You aren't taking these two anywhere."
"I am a chūnin, you are a genin. You will do as I say and remove yourself from my path or you will be detained for insubordination."
"Can it asshole. In case you haven't heard the recent promotion list. I am a chūnin as well. Hinata-chan was nice enough to come request my leadership specifically since I was free today, so feel free to take that mission and shove it up right next to that branch you're so fond of." He saw the man slip a foot back slightly and decided on one last warning. "Being as we are both chūnin, need I remind you of the repercussions of taking an offensive action without due cause. There are witnesses around Hyūga, and I would really hate to have them see a mighty clansman like yourself fall because of an unsatisfactory knowledge of the laws."
It was the Hyūga's turn to narrow his eyes, but he didn't get the chance at a retort when someone else spoke up.
"You can tell Hiashi that I won't be doing a mission if there is another Hyūga in it, ever. It isn't insubordination if I feel that my life is threatened by your mere presence. That man has given me more than enough reason to claim such a thing, so he might as well stop his schemes where they are. I don't plan on going back to the Hyūga, ever, and I have Naruto-kun to keep me safe most of the time, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to watch my own back either." That wasn't what the man had been expecting out of the once shy former Hyūga heiress. Indeed, none of them had expected it as they each looked at her with different expressions of surprise and awe.
"Well said Hinata-chan...Well I would say that pretty much proves you're out of the picture, so I'd suggest you move along, Hyūga."
"This isn't over boy, Hiashi will have the byakugan fully under his control once again."
"I've heard that before too, but so far it hasn't happened. Anything short of murder wouldn't do any good and even that would point right back to him. He wouldn't be in control of shit if he's in prison, so I would suggest he cut his losses and find someone else to harass."
"If you're both done puffing out your chests, could we get our mission and go please? I'd rather not stand here and watch two ego inflate to the point that they blow the roof off the building." Harume growled out from the stacks of mission scrolls, already searching for one the may be decent. It looked like she had a few possibilities already set aside.
The Hyūga chūnin sneered at her, then glared at Hinata and Naruto before finally heading for the door. His contact was not going to be happy with this development. He would like the next one even less.
"What's this?" He turned around to see Naruto holding up an open scroll. Frantically searching his pockets, the man went wide-eyed as he realized what he'd dropped. He rushed forward towards Naruto, intending on snatching the scroll back when a deep growl stopped him in his tracks. The blond looked up at him with pure, unbridled hatred in his eyes. "You people just don't know when to give up do you?"
A flash of chakra wavered across Naruto's wrists and ankles just before he disappeared. When he reappeared he was standing where the Hyūga had been and said man was now implanted into the wall. The chūnin in charge of missions was out of his seat as soon as the crash hit his ears. "What the hell are you doing?"
Naruto turned to him, still glaring, causing the man to take a step back. "Who is he?"
"You just attacked a chūnin of the leaf. You should be arrested!"
"I asked: Who. Is. He?"
The killing intent Naruto was flooding the room with was making the chūnin sweat as he fumbled for his clipboard. "H-Hyūga Shoyo. W-why?"
"He is now a criminal for accepting an unauthorized and illegal mission. When the ANBU get here make sure he is detained under suspicion of conspiracy to harm, and willing involvement in treasonous acts against Konoha. I'm tired of messing around with these assholes. No matter what, let him sit in a cell until I come back from my mission and I'll provide the evidence then."
"You can't just leave after making such a claim!"
"Watch me." Without looking he picked a random scroll from Harume's stack and filled out the clipboard himself. He stalked out of the mission hall with a rather nervous Harume and Hinata on his heals, leaving a speechless chūnin in the aftermath of his rage. When the doors to the outside opened they found themselves face-to-face with three ANBU, most likely the closest to the area when they heard the commotion.
"Uzumaki, what happened inside?" The closest one asked.
"There is an unconscious Hyūga inside, please detain him until we return. I have a mission to complete that we've already signed for, so detailed explanations of his actions will have to wait until we return."
The ANBU could tell that he was in no mood to talk, but they still had their duties. "Give me a brief description and I will decide if you will be going anywhere or not."
Naruto opened the scroll that the Hyūga dropped and showed it to all three ANBU present. "As you can see, this is an illegal mission assignment to apply the Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu to a non Hyūga ninja. It is signed as accepted by Hyūga Shoyo, the same as the one inside. Is that reason enough?"
"...We'll detain him, but we won't be able to charge him without evidence so I'll need to take that with me." The ANBU reached out to take the scroll, but it was pulled away from him. "Uzumaki-san I will need that evidence to convict him."
"He'll have to wait until I get back like I said. As you can probably imagine, I'm not exactly fond of this village's justice system, so you'll just have to wait. Besides, you're allowed to hold him for a month since you've seen evidence, just schedule a hearing for an undisclosed time and we'll deal with it when I get back. It's not like the council have anything better to do with there time." Naruto detoured around the group of ANBU, as calmly as he could, and went on his way with Harume and Hinata following once again.
"Taichō, what should we do?" One of the other ANBU asked, slightly pleading.
"We go inside, arrest the Hyūga and take him to a cell." The man ordered.
"What about the brat?"
"He was in the right in this case. It was a bit of a stretch, but I can see why he went so far. Think about it, if the Hyūga were to get away with putting that seal on someone not in their clan, what would stop them from putting on anyone they damn well please. Better to stop such a thing before the seeds even get planted."
"Hai taichō..."
• • •
With their supplies obtained, Naruto and the remains of team eight were out the gate in less than an hour. Neither of the girls could blame him for not wanting to wait until the next morning, so they followed him wordlessly down the road. After the village walls were out of sight he finally spoke up.
"We're going to a small village just north of the western crossroads. Looks like a small time kidnaper decided to try for a big target and took a local wealthy merchant's daughter while she was out for a walk. He's asking for her ransom and gave a specific meeting point and time for the money to be dropped off. Tonight at eight at a bridge near the outskirts of the town. We'll be going to the merchant's house first to get any extra information we'll need before heading to the exchange point for the rescue. Since the kidnapper has no ninja training it should be easy, but stay alert for traps. Hinata, you'll be the one searching for the girl while the exchange is taking place. Harume, you'll be henged as the merchant, so make sure you copy him exactly."
"And I suppose you'll be the one to swoop in and save the day?" Harume asked a bit cynically.
"No. I'll be henged as well."
"As what?"
"The money." Naruto smiled at her, though it was only half hearted. "We'll be capturing the kidnapper alive so he can stand trial. His offense hasn't warranted a kill order. At least, as long as he hasn't hurt his captive." The girls nodded as they continued on their way.
"Naruto-kun, thank you for coming."
"I already told you it was fine Hinata-chan. Don't worry about it."
"But, because of that you're going to have to see the council again, and I know how well you get along with them..."
Naruto sighed. He had been trying to put the mornings event out of his mind. "It's fine. I'd rather have to spend time dealing with those assholes than worrying about you being safe. Besides, the only one that will be a pain to deal with should be Hiashi since it was a ninja of the Hyūga clan that was involved."
"...I'll make it up to you I promise..."
"I said it's fine Hinata, you don't owe me anything." Despite his attempts to stay calm, Naruto was starting to get a little agitated.
"I don't care if I don't owe you anything. I want to give you something."
"Could you please not talk about your planning for you freaky nighttime events while I'm right here?" Harume really didn't want to hear about their personal lives, or the plans they contained for them.
Naruto shot her a glare. "I doubt that is what we were talking about Harume." He rubbed the bridge of his nose while he collected his own thoughts for a moment, trying to calm himself down again. Now was not the time to snap at people, especially people who were some of the few on your good side. "Look, let's just finish this mission and we'll talk about this when we get home. Ok Hinata?"
All the answer he got was a slight nod as Hinata moved silently forward. There was no way for him to know just what kind of 'thanks' Hinata had planned on giving him. Of course she knew those rewards would have to stay in her daydreams for now, but she was willing to wait...for awhile.
They made it to the target with time to spare. The merchant's house was easy to spot since it was the largest building in the small town. Apparently he decided to live here simply because he liked the scenery. The man himself was dressed as one would expect of someone of his stature. Three piece suit with bejeweled rings and cufflinks. His hair couldn't have been more perfect nor his shoes reflect anymore light than they already were.
"So you are the ninja I hired? I must say you seem a little younger than I had imagined they would send."
The three rolled their eyes. There was always this downside to being a young ninja. No one ever took you seriously. Naruto stepped forward, signifying that he was the main contact for the man. "I assure you sir that we are more than capable of handling this mission. We may look young to you, but our line of work forces us to grow up rather quickly. My squad and I are trained well for missions such as these and a simple rescue from a normal kidnapper should be well within our skill level. Before we begin our plans, however, I will need to know any information you might have on the accused kidnapper. Where he would likely be hiding, looks, height, notable skills. Anything that may assist us in apprehending your criminal."
The merchant looked at each of them as though considering their possible skill levels. "Very well. The man is around six and a half feet in height, black hair, green eyes, tattoo on his left bicep of a spider's head according to the person he gave the ransom notice to. His only skills that I know of are spiriting away young girls when they are defenseless and demanding ludicrous sums of money for them."
"Not as much as I'd hoped, but at least we should know if it's the right person when we meet them."
The merchant looked over them again, taking a bit longer than needed when glancing at the girls. Naruto knew what was coming, but thankfully his plans already used up all of his resources. "I think I may need a bit of protection myself for this endeavor. Perhaps one of you would be able to stay behind and make sure this fiend doesn't decide to get the money he desires from the source." His eyes settled directly on the girls and grew hungry as he looked at them. The girls in return looked repulsed at the man. He was old enough to be their grandfather and yet he was nearly drooling at the mouth. "I wouldn't dream of taking the leader from the mission though, so perhaps one of you lovely ladies would like to join me for the evening. I promise to make it...worth your while." He reached out to stroke Harume's cheek, but found his arm to be unmoving when a hand clenched around his wrist.
Hinata was not about to let such a pig touch her friend and it showed in her eyes. "I'm so sorry sir, but we are here for a mission to rescue your daughter. We are not here to tend to you personally."
Unfortunately her words only seemed to fan the flames. "Oh she's got some fire in her. I do so like the ones with a little spirit. Tell me dear, does your boyfriend treat you right? Because I know ways to treat a lady that I'm sure he can only dream about." Again he made to reach a hand out to stroke a soft cheek, only this time his hand did touch something smooth. The cold, hard, but admittedly smooth, side of Harume's wakizashi.
"Well Hinata-chan. The man asked you a question. Does Naruto-kun treat you right?" Her blade shifted from the man's hand to his throat, forcing him to take a few steps back unless he desired another air hole.
Naruto stepped up and gently removed Harume's sword from the man's throat before addressing him. "So sorry sir, but I have assignments for each of my squad members. If you need a guard that badly I can leave a clone here to keep you company. Of course he'll disperse after one hit so I wouldn't get too randy with him." To emphasize his point he made a single clone, which appeared to be already scowling at the merchant.
"N-no! That's alright. I'll just...keep out of sight." The man scurried away from them and back into the depths of his house.
"Well that could have gone better. Why does it seem that so many men either want to kill, hurt or molest any female that's even remotely close to me?"
"It's just part of your charm Naruto-kun."
"Yeah...Anyway, you both know your jobs. Harume give me your wakizashi please." The girl looked confused for a second but reluctantly handed over her blade. Her confused look changed to a bit of anger when he sealed the weapon away.
"Hey! What the hell do you think your doing? Give me back my sword!"
"You'll get it back after the mission is complete. For now, with your...condition, I can't risk you killing anyone that we're not supposed to." He told her in a bit more of a commanding tone.
"Then what the hell am I supposed to fight with? My jutsu would be just as deadly to the guy."
"...Harume...you have two weapons. Use your jutte. It's a police officer's weapon anyway and I showed you how to use the rope, so use it." He stared her down unflinchingly. After a few minutes with a nervous Hinata standing by, Harume finally gave in with a pout.
"Not fair..."
"Now that that's settled, Let's head to the meeting point. Hinata can scout ahead for us." They were off in no time, sticking to the edge of the town in order to stay somewhat undetected.
The sun had already set and the moon was slowly rising into the night sky as they neared their target. Hinata's byakugan was already active and had been since the halfway point. The only things she saw though were some nocturnal wildlife and something that made her blush, but she assured them that it didn't pertain to their mission so the subject wasn't pushed, though Naruto did smell a very distinct scent in the air so he had an idea of what she saw. I wasn't uncommon for a couple to go frolicking in the night, but at least the fact that she didn't say anything meant that it wasn't their target.
A few hundred yards from their target, Naruto had them stop and prepare. "Ok, we break off here. Hinata I want you to circle around the meeting area, keeping us just within range of your byakugan. That way if the target is at the exchange you won't have to waste time. Otherwise you are to keep the majority of your attention on scouting the areas around us for signs of the target. If you make a full circle with no results, widen your range and circle again. Don't neglect the town either since he may actually be bold enough to have her tied up there somewhere. If you don't find her after three circuits then come back to us and we'll have to turn to interrogation."
"Hai." Noting the business-like attitude of her boyfriend, Hinata simply leapt off to complete her task.
"Harume, go ahead and henge into the merchant."
In a poof of smoke, the plump merchant was wobbling right where Harume once stood. "Ugh, I feel dirty just being in this form. I'm definitely getting a bath first thing when we get back."
"I'd suggest you wait until we're back at the village. Who know what type of bath that merchant would offer you."
Harume shivered and mock-retched at the thought of the vile man. She had to stop though as Naruto's own poof of smoke made him shrink...a lot. On the ground in front of her was now a black briefcase. It was apparent that he wasn't going to be giving her any more direction, so she took it upon herself to grab the case and head the rest of the way to the meeting point.
It took only a few minutes to get there and as they cleared the last bend before the bridge, they spotted a rather ruggedly handsome looking man. Despite his chosen occupation the man seemed rather calm at the moment.
"Hello father." Now they were a bit nervous themselves, but Harume did her best to play her part. Not that he needed much help at acting testy at the moment. She kept her features in check as she made her way towards the bridge. "I must admit I'm surprised that you are so forthcoming now of all times."
"And just why shouldn't I be?"
"Well you never were exactly supportive of my relationship with your daughter, so why would you want to pick now to back it, with a dowry even!" The 'kidnapper' took a step away from the merchant, whom curiously glanced down at the case 'he' was holding.
"We'll, I suppose that if you're willing to go this far for your love then there is little I can do about it, is there?"
"That was true the moment we got together. Why should your opinions change just because she wants to be with me for the rest of her life instead of you."
Harume stared at the man, not sure on how to continue. After a few minutes of just staring at each other, she finally relented and sighed. Setting down the briefcase, she stepped slightly away from it. "I have no idea how to handle this situation, so you're going to have to make the call."
If the man wasn't confused with what his 'father' was doing, then he was definitely confused now that the older man had spoken in a rather feminine voice while addressing his...briefcase? His questions were answered when smoke enveloped the case and cleared to reveal someone entirely new, but as his eyes took in the headband he knew exactly what this person was. "N-ninja!" He tried to run back the way he came, but when he turned e found a female ninja blocking his path. He spun back on his heel just in time to see a cloud where the merchant had been, disappear to reveal nothing.
"Well Harume, you blew our cover, but I won't add that to the mission report since we seemed to be running on misinformation. Sir, I need you to explain your situation to us as best you can." Naruto walked over to the man who seemed to be shaking slightly.
"Y-yes, just please don't kill me."
"As long as you cooperate, we won't kill you." That seemed to relax the man a little, though his knees still gave out and he found himself sitting against the railing of the bridge
"Fuchida-san is rich, but that isn't why I love his daughter. Hell, I met her before I even came to this town. We met down at the Southern shores and fell for each other quickly soon after. Her father wasn't around at the time of course, heh, he never would have approved of our meetings. He only caught wind of what we were up to when I asked for her hand in marriage." He took the time to look up at the moon. At that moment two flares crossed the sky, one green and the next yellow.
"Looks like Hinata found the girl. She'll...be taking her home."
"I see..."
"More than likely though she heard a similar tale to what you are currently telling us now. If you would like to continue..."
The man sighed with a slight whimper of lost hope. "Obviously he refused my request. Why should my daughter marry someone as lowly as you, he said. You're just after my fortune, he said. He just wouldn't listen when I told him that I had no idea that his Euiko was part of such a wealthy family. I tried to convince him that I didn't want his money, but he threw me out."
"So you decided to kidnap her from her family?"
"No! I would never kidnap someone. She ran away from her father to be with me. We got eloped and were planning on running away from here, but I guess her father found out. He sent me a message saying that he wanted to meet me here one more time. That he wanted to give a dowry so that at least his daughter would have something to live off of rather than relying on someone like me. It's funny you know? She told me not to come, she said she knew her father and that this would be a trap of some sort...I should have listened."
"Yeah you should have. Woulda made our lives a hell of a lot easier."
"Harume..."
"Well it's true. He could have run off to another country, then it'd be out of our hands."
The three stayed in silence as Naruto looked to be contemplating the situation. He was considering the meanings behind Hinata's second flare as well as what he was going to do about this new information. Part of his issue would soon be resolved it seemed as Hinata appeared on the bridge.
"Report."
Hinata was slightly taken aback by Naruto's tone and brief address, but managed to bring herself back to the necessary present in order to answer him. "H-hai. Fuchida Euiko is back at her family's mansion, however...there were some complications."
"Euiko wasn't kidnapped. Yeah, we found that out too." Harume finished for her. "Stupid bastard wants to wreck his daughter's happiness just so he can stay in control of her life."
"That may be, but our job is done here." Naruto stood up, shocking all three of his current company.
"You're not seriously going to let this go are you?" Harume shouted at him.
"Naruto-kun, we can't just let him get away with this."
"We were hired to get Euiko back to her father. That's done, so now we get his signature and leave." He looked at the only other man in the area. "I'm sorry that it turned out this way but we are getting paid to do a job, and I'd rather not be here any longer than I need to be. We'll be heading out early tomorrow in order to report this mission complete and that the details were...misleading. I'm sure you understand. My advice would be to leave this area, possibly leave Hi no Kuni all together. Goodbye." He turned to leave as the girls stood, shocked at the turn of events.
"At least let me know your name! Mine's..." The man started but was cut off by Naruto's harsh voice.
"I don't care what your name is and to be honest, it will make things easier in the future if we never learn it. Again, goodbye."
"..."
"Let's go." Naruto looked at his two fellow ninja, who seemed hesitant to move. "Now." He commanded them, the force of which startled them into moving, stalling only slightly to give the man they were leaving behind a worried glance. The only thing they found odd about it was that the man didn't seem to be mad at them. Instead he was smiling slightly and looking at the night sky.
"If you'll just sign here sir, we'll be on our way."
The merchant begrudgingly signed the mission scroll before handing it back to the boy. "I guess I can't complain too much. You brought my daughter back safely even if you didn't kill that bastard."
"It was not a part of our mission to kill him, just to stall him long enough so that we could find the girl and bring her back."
"What if he comes back and takes her again though?"
"Then I suppose you'll have to order another mission, I'm sure you have more than enough spare change to pay for one. It's much cheaper than the dowry for your daughter would be I should think. Perhaps, being the smooth talking merchant you are though, you'll be able to talk your way out of even having to pay one. It'll be almost like giving your daughter away."
"Hmph. Just get out of here before I decide that Konoha's ninja are being too nosey for their own good."
"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Harume took an aggressive step forward, only to be stopped by Naruto's extended arm.
"Don't worry, we wouldn't want to spend another day in your presence. It would be too troublesome for us if we were to stay one more night." Naruto gave a slight bob of his head and went for the door, practically dragging Harume with him.
As the door closed behind them he let go of Harume's arm before heading out into the night to locate a hotel. "It's late. We'll get a couple rooms and head back to Konoha in the morning." As he walked out into the street he was turned around rather harshly and forced to look into the teary eyes of Hinata just before she slapped him across the face.
"Why?" She asked, almost desperately. "They were just like us!"
"They aren't like us Hinata-chan. They are civilians. Our methods of solving problems don't work for them. In their lives, money is power. Whoever controls the flow of that money, or controls a large sum of it, has the power to do as they please. We may be ninja but we're also mercenaries. Our reputation to clients is based on how well we completed a mission. Our only concession is that we are allowed to decline missions or blacklist clients that proved to be less honorable than ourselves."
"So we're just going to leave them like that? Leave Euiko to a loveless life and crush that man's dreams? How would you like it if you had to give me back to my father?"
"That's different."
"No it's not!" Hinata was practically screaming at him now.
Harume came up and held her close while glaring at Naruto. "Is this really you Naruto? Are we now seeing the real you? A ruthless ninja that lives for nothing but the mission? Your parents must be rolling around in their graves to know what you've become."
Naruto stared at her, then at Hinata before finally combing a hand through his hair. "Look, we can't do anything more than we have for those two. I've helped them all that the laws will allow. The only thing we can do for them now is to report the misinformation when we get back to the village and try to blacklist Fuchida-san to give them some time." He turned back around and continued on his path to find a hotel for them to stay at.
Harume looked at him, rather confused, but shook it off as she went back to consoling Hinata as they followed their leader. The whole time she knew him she had never been disappointed in him. Skeptical, hateful, even slightly disgusted but never disappointed. There always seemed to be a reason for everything he did. She just wished she could figure out what it was this time.
It took only took them a few more minutes to find a suitable place as there happened to be one around the next bend. Once the rooms were paid for the split their separate ways after Naruto told them when they would be getting up the next day. Hinata took a few minutes standing outside the rooms before deciding that she just couldn't spend the night with Naruto this time. She slowly, sadly followed the other girl, allowing the door to shut slowly behind them.
Once in the room, she found Harume staring out the window. "It's late Harume-chan. We should get to bed if we want to be able to get up tomorrow."
"Aren't you questioning him Hinata?"
"...?"
Harume sighed at the girl's look of confusion."When has Naruto ever given up without a fight? He just isn't the type of person to let something like this slide."
"But he said..."
"I know what he said, but what did he mean when he said it?"
"..."
"Ugh! I just can't figure it out. Let's get some sleep. We'll ask him in the morning. Besides, I want my wakizashi back anyhow. That's one thing I'll give him credit for. If I'da had it I'da skewered that old bastard on the spot." Shrugging off their clothes the two girls settled in for the night while trying to keep their minds of their troubling thoughts.
Over on the other side of the wall, Naruto grinned a bit from their exchange. 'I'll have to let them know that some hotel walls aren't as soundproof as they seem. Good job though Harume. Let's see if you can figure it out before we get back.' He slipped under the covers of his own bed, finding it slightly uncomfortable. He actually had a bit of trouble falling asleep despite how tired he felt.
• • •
In the early morning hours the next day, a figure could be seen climbing out of the window of a building with a bundle on it's back. As it's feet touched the ground another figure rushed up and embraced the first before they both ran off into the predawn twilight. Not a single light in the house turned on to signify that someone might have heard the event.
It would indeed take a few more hours before anyone even realized that something had happened.
• • •
Frantic knocking woke the three ninja as they quickly got dressed and opened their doors. In the hall they found the frantic looking elder Fuchida looking a mixture of angry and anxious.
"You must help me! My daughter has been kidnapped again! That fiend must have taken her this morning so they couldn't have gone far. You should be able to catch them if you hurry!"
Harume looked mad enough to gut him, but had to settle for glaring at him when Naruto stepped between the girls and their former client. "I'm sorry Fuchida-san but we are finished here and are planning on leaving not too long from now."
"But I have a contract. You were charged with bringing her back to me!"
"True. A contract that has been fulfilled and signed as such by yourself." To prove his point, Naruto held up the signed mission scroll. "Now if you'd like, we could take a new contract proposal back with us. We'll turn it in and they will either approve or deny it then send a team if they decide to accept the mission. If you plan on taking that route then I suggest you hurry with the proposal. I plan on leaving within the hour." Turning from the man, he pushed the two confused girls towards their room and told them to pack as the elder man rushed off to write up a letter to the Hokage, or council. Whichever would happen to receive it.
Almost exactly a half hour later the three ninja were exiting the hotel when the, obviously out of breath, Fuchida man ran up to them. "You were going to leave before I gave you the scroll?"
"I said I wanted to leave within the hour. I never said that we would wait for you. It was up to you to get back here before we left, but I don't see why you're complaining. You made it here after all."
"...Anyway, here is the new proposal. Please take it to whomever is in charge and ask them to push it through with all possible haste. Every second that passes means that that beast gets farther from here with my daughter and closer to my pockets."
"The only thing you care about is your money. You disgust me!" Hinata growled out.
"Little girl, don't even pretend to know what the outside world is like. You are nothing but a blade for hire and you do as you're ordered. Now run back, I have no more time to waste with you three." The merchant stuck his nose in the air and walked away from them. He had no need to worry that his new contract would reach the proper people. It was part of a ninja's duty to bring in new opportunities to their village after all.
"Well ladies, our mission was slatted for a three days and it's such a nice day out. What do you say we take a nice leisurely walk home instead of running?" Naruto grinned as he headed towards the road back home. The two girls just stared at his back wondering what the heck was going on. "Oh! Before I forget, you can have this back now Harume-san." Naruto unsealed her sword and tossed it over his shoulder towards her.
She caught in quickly and cradled it like a baby. "Don't worry, I won't let the mean man take you away again. Hey Naruto, what gives? Why are you taking another contract from that asshole? We should just let him deal with his own problems and let those two have an actual chance."
"Because, Harume, it's our job to take offers back to the village too."
"Well I can forgive you a bit for last night since they were able to get away again, but I still don't think we should let him go after them again no matter what he's offering to pay."
"He's offering the same amount as with us." Naruto replied calmly.
"So?"
"Do you remember what I told that man on the bridge Harume?"
"Yeah, you basically drilled his dreams into the ground and told him we were leaving."
Hinata was nodding in agreement when her head suddenly stopped mid-bob. She looked shocked as her head shot towards Naruto. "Seems like Hinata remembered something. Care to share it with us hime?" Harume looked between the proudly smiling boy and the gobsmacked, pale-eyed girl.
"Huh?"
"Y-you told him we were leaving...early. You also said...that he should leave the country. Then you made sure we didn't learn his name!" By the time she finished she had tears in her eyes. She hiccuped once before she rushed him and tackled him to the ground with a kiss.
Meanwhile Harume was trying to figure out what part of that made sense. "So, you let him know that we...wouldn't be here long and that he...and...possibly someone else would be better off...out of the country...You are a sick bastard you know that?"
Naruto quirked an eyebrow at her in response since his mouth was still currently occupied.
"You let us believe we were simply abandoning them when you were actually giving him hints on how to get away and not have to worry about the future so much. You devious son of a bitch. I should kick your ass just for making us think you were a cold hearted bastard. No wonder the guy had a smile on his face." Her grin couldn't have been larger as she finally unraveled his plot.
After finally uncorking his mouth by pushing Hinata up, he took a deep breath. "I knew you two would figure it out eventually, though I had kind of hoped it would have been a bit sooner than this. You know, Hinata, I think I've gotten used to having someone to cuddle up with. It was really hard to get to sleep last night..."
Forced to recall last nights events, Hinata bowled him over again, but this time kissed his cheek, the same one she had slapped the night before. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun, I shouldn't have doubted you. Please forgive me."
"There's nothing to forgive Hinata-hime. If anyone should apologize it should be me for deceiving you two. I'm sorry but I had to make it believable."
"Even so, I'll make sure you are warm at night from now on...well unless one of us is on a mission of course."
"Ahem...as much as I love hearing about your nighttime adventures, can we skip to why we accepted another proposal from that creep?"
Naruto stood up, helping Hinata to follow him before he started walking again. "Well it was true that it is part of our duty, but it's also in an effort to get him blacklisted." Now it was Harume's turn to lift an eyebrow. "For our mission, he gave us misleading information and the whole mission description was basically falsified. He'll be forced to pay the fee for the mission since it was completed despite the fact that she was 'kidnapped' again. On top of that, there will be a fine for his deception which could have cost an innocent man his life had a more ruthless team showed up instead of us."
"Tell me when you're going to get to the point hotshot." Hinata sent her a little glare, but she just smirked back.
"We are only delivering the proposal it hasn't been accepted as an official mission yet. I will also only hand it over after our mission report has been handed in. I plan on including in my report that I decided to help the poor man out by telling him to leave the country. Provided he listened, that would mean that whoever takes the mission would be leaving Hi no Kuni to search for them. The number of countries they could go to is pretty vast. Being civilians, they are welcome in more areas than we are."
Hinata once again puzzled out his meaning. "So, since they are very likely to be outside of our boarders the mission rank gets automatically increased. If they end up in enemy territory it could end up as an A or even S-rank mission depending on where they end up and how far they go into a country."
"Since he only put in the proposal that he was willing to pay as much as our current mission a courier will have to be sent back an forth until an agreed upon price is met." Naruto clarified.
"Ok so you bought them some time and ensured that there will be higher ranked and more ruthless ninja after them. Great idea brainiac."
"Isn't it though? One of two things will happen when the mission is raised to that level. Option one of course is to pay it and the mission goes off, but that won't happen because of the amount the mission will cost so the other option is that he suck up his losses and forgive the fact that his daughter fell in love and is happy. Either way, I don't think it's going to matter much. We probably won't be accepting the mission anyway."
"Oh? Do tell."
"Usually cross border rescue missions require large sums of money and are for people of noble blood. Royalty or highly political figures, the exceedingly rich or famous. People like that. No matter what that man may think, he is neither royalty, politically strong, exceedingly rich or famous by any means. He may be wealthy in this area, but on the world scene he's just a small fry."
Hinata looked at her boyfriend oddly. "So just how long had you planned this all out?"
"...since the man called Harume-san 'father'."
Harume sighed at the two. "You really are too nice for your own good, you know that?" He grinned at her over his shoulder but didn't respond. "Even though you cause me unbelievable headaches from time to time...never change Naruto. Never change."
• • •
Just like Naruto said, they made it back to Konoha the next day, making their trip three days total. The three parted ways at the gate with Hinata taking Harume back to the estate for some 'girl time' while Naruto headed for the mission hall to fill out his report and turn in all of his documents. Just as he anticipated, the mission proposal that was written up was considered and set aside with a notice to read his mission report for a possible need of renegotiation or reconsideration.
Right after he finished that task, he headed over to the ANBU sector. Having been there before, he went directly to the front desk where the same old woman was sorting some papers. "Ahem, excuse me miss?"
The woman looked up at him through her thick spectacles. "Can I help you?"
"Possibly. A few days ago a man was brought in, a Hyūga. Could you tell me about his current status?"
"I'm sorry, but that information is confidential. If you want access to it you'll have to go through the proper channels."
"About that, I am the one who has the evidence against him."
The woman studied him for a minute. "...Do I know you?"
"Ah, yeah, I came to get a bingo book quite awhile ago. I surprised you remember me after seeing me just once." Honestly he couldn't understand how she could recognize anyone anymore through those borderline binoculars that she wore.
The old woman tapped her temple and smiled at him. "Good memory, even at my age. Now, you said you had evidence for a...Hyūga arrest. Well, we've only had one recently so that must be it. Let's see, well now that you're back, we can get his trial underway. We'll have to suspend your mission duty until his trial is over though. Can't have you skipping town if things get heated and all that."
"I understand. I'll be try to be at my estate as much as possible for ease of contact. Just let me know when the hearing will be and I'll be sure to show up. Speaking of which, is there any news on Uchiha Sasuke's trial?"
The woman pursed her lips at the mention of the boy's name. "All I can tell you is that nothing is going to be done with him until either the current Hokage is well enough to oversee a trial, or a new Hokage is appointed to deal with that mess. Personally I hope it's the latter, otherwise Sandaime-sama may end up right back in the hospital from the stress."
"I see. Thank you for your time Obaa-san." Naruto bowed to the woman before leaving.
"Such a polite young man, and some impressive kills as well for his age. He may end up getting his wish sooner than he thought if he keeps that up, eh Neko-chan?"
"...Hai taichō."
• • •
Naruto was resting comfortably in the arms of Hinata as a commotion roused him from his slumber. Getting up sleepily, he stumbled to his window to see some people at his gate. He cursed to himself, wishing they would go away, but he knew when he saw the flash of a white mask that he would have to go down and greet them. He quickly got dressed, trying to remain as silent as possible in order to not wake the sleeping form in his bed. He couldn't help but smile as she pulled his pillow to her and breathed in his scent from it, hugging it close and seeming to be satisfied with her new cuddling object for the moment.
He snuck out of the room as quietly as he could and met Kin in the hallway as she was coming out to see what the racket was. "It's alright Kin, It's just some ANBU, probably here for me for a meeting."
Kin blinked sleepily at him and yawned. "You gonna need some back-up?" She wobbled a little in the doorway, making him chuckle.
"No I should be fine, if you don't feel like going back to bed just try not to wake the others. I'm sure they could use their sleep."
"Hai, hai. Goodnight Naruto-sama." Kin waved casually as she disappeared back into the room she came out of. Apparently she commandeered Hinata's bedroom when she started sleeping in his bed.
He was able to make it the rest of the way to the gate with little trouble, other than a small stumble when he misstepped on the last step of the stairs due to his still waking up state. Once there his suspicions were confirmed, three ANBU were waiting outside the gate and looked to be a little on the impatient side.
"Oi, this better be good. Do you have any idea how early it is? I don't hear any emergency sirens going off, so what the hell are you here for?"
"Uzumaki Naruto, you are required to attend a council hearing for an event that you took part in."
"Yeah, yeah. Just tell me when to be there and I'll show up. I already told them that yesterday, jeez."
"You are required there presently."
Naruto blinked at the man, blinked again, than cleaned out his ear with his finger. "Excuse me?"
"The hearing is happening at this moment, you are required to attend now."
"...I take it Hiashi decided to call this meeting so early?" He just new this was an attempt for the man to try to work around the system. Catch the enemy when their guard is down and you have an unparalleled advantage. One thing Hiashi didn't count on though was that, after years of being chased, beaten and worse, Naruto had learned that one must always be as prepared as one can be.
"The ANBU just looked at his comrades before turning back to Naruto. "That is not for us to say. Our orders are simply to notify you of you needed attendance and to let you know that if you don't show up in time that the case will be thrown out."
"Pray tell, how much time do I have?"
"...Five minutes." Before the ANBU finished his second word the gate was already slammed shut and Naruto was disappearing over the rooftops. Again the ANBU looked at each other before shooting off after the blond. They were able to catch up with him about halfway to their destination, but only because they were pushing their own pace. "You are quite the sprinter Uzumaki-san." One of the ANBU called out over the rushing air.
Naruto stayed silent as he pushed a little more chakra to his seals to lessen his weight a bit more, surprising the ANBU as he dashed ahead of them once again. They played this game the entire way to the tower. The ANBU would catch up and Naruto would speed up. He wasn't doing this to impress anyone, but rather to get his own blood pumping in an effort to wake himself up a bit before this farce of a hearing, as he had no doubt Hiashi would try to make it.
It was only two minutes later that Naruto was standing outside the council chambers. Slight groaning and even some snoring could be heard from inside as he knocked on the door to let them know he had arrived.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone