Orange, Spirals and Everything Nice

Nineteen: Trip to Kumo Village

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters or the setting of the story. They all exclusively belong to Mr. Masashi Kishimoto in all its rights.

Four months.

Hinata had juggled between simultaneous clan missions and duties that left her in and out of the village without rest. The clan elders had been pressing the heiress to take on tasks and quit running away from her fate.

Well, what did they know about her fate?

Hinata knew that they were merely making her work as a test. If she still possessed the qualifications of a Hyuuga.

Especially that of an heiress.

But not everything about her duties were hateful. Because Hinata learned while she worked. She met a lot of people from nobilities, merchants, legends, as well as commoners and a few villains as well. She treated her journey as one long mission and she felt accomplished more than anything. The heiress might have started to lean into this clan duties and responsibilities, especially about the diplomatic part of it.

Along the way, Hinata wondered if improving her leadership skills would let her be of any assistance to Naruto once he becomes Hokage.

Of course, she hasn't forgotten about her beloved knucklehead.
Although, she had just been so busy to remind herself of him or his whereabouts. But being away from the hero also taught her one thing. That she needed the distance to find herself, too.

And Hinata realized that her world didn't only revolve around Naruto.

That she was also a girl — a lady — of her own being.

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Naruto instinctively held his breath when Hinata stepped inside Kakashi's office for a mission briefing with Choji, Ino and Sai as a team. The lovely lavender scent of her long midnight-blue hair brushed against his senses as she moved gracefully across the Hokage office.

Ah, Naruto had surely missed her scent.

Since the day he embarrassingly fainted in front of the heiress, the knucklehead had been either too shy or too giddy to approach her. So he purposely avoided her for a while because she always makes him feel... weird. But an awfully positive kind of weird. Which he frustratingly still can't understand to this day.

Naruto really tried asking everyone he knew in Konoha and even Gaara during his previous trip to Suna on a mission with Shikamaru. But they were all either avoiding the question or simply giving him advices in forms of riddles. Then when other pressing matters distracted him from his personal problems, Naruto simply forgets about the topic.

And time eventually went on.

He even once thought of asking Hinata directly about his feelings, but she had been so busy with her own missions, so they rarely met at all. The hero on the other hand is still stuck with his studies, his own missions and his Hokage training which started the day after Kakashi's official inauguration.

Until this unexpected mission was brought on their plates.

"The Raikage asked for our assistance to escort a daughter of the Lightning country's Daimyo to the Water country." Kakashi briefed the group after a while. "You will be working with a group of Kumo ninjas for this mission which you'll meet when you get there." the Hokage instructed.

"Then why do they still need us, Hokage-sama? Are there any big threats lurking around the area?" Choji asked with uncertainty.

Kakashi nodded. "Apparently, this mission is connected to the previous mission by the Hyuugas shortly before the war." he explained and glanced at Hinata.