Naruhina: Something New

Chapter 4: Dumb and Dense Some

Very early next morning, Naruto found himself trying to control his yawn. He was waiting for his team members: Ino, Shino, and Hinata.

Despite the earliness of the day, he was looking forward to the mission. They were setting out on a journey that would be less than a day's walk. One of the smaller neighboring villages had asked for a rescue operation to be conducted with stealth, hence the members that Shikamaru had selected: Naruto and his sage mode, Ino, with her mind control jutsu, Shino with his skill controlling insects, and Hinata's byakugan.

Two days ago, standing before the sixth Hokage, all four members had been given mission objectives. They were to rescue Lady Ririka, the sister of Lord Yurasu, who'd been abducted while on her way home from school. The kidnapping hadn't been made public so there was a chance to rescue her quietly without anyone knowing of the incident. The kidnappers, though, had already demanded a ransom.

The few clues from the ransom note had given Shikamaru an idea of where the kidnappers were hiding. He'd sent an earlier detail to scout out the area and was proven correct with his hypothesis. After confirming the identity and safety of the lord's sister, Kiba and Sai had sent a message back to Konoha. While she was unharmed, there'd been a lot more enemies than expected. It would be difficult to rescue Lady Ririka without backup.

Shino was captaining the four-member team and their job was to rendezvous with Kiba and Sai, rescue the sister, and deal with the leader quietly. They were also to disband the kidnappers and discourage them from doing harm again. Shino's instructions were to plant bugs on all of the kidnappers for continued monitoring.

As an added insurance, Hinata would disrupt the kidnappers' chakra flow and incapacitate anyone who resisted. Kakashi hadn't wanted to use the Hyuuga's byakugan in such a cruel way, but Hinata had been game. There was no way she could refuse the Hokage's orders.

Besides, she'd voiced her own reasons aloud to everyone in the room.

"A young girl has been threatened. We can't let the kidnappers continue to do something like that to others," she said.

Naruto had been impressed. Of course. It only made sense. Hinata had a younger sister, too.

"Naruto," Ino called out in her sing-song voice.

Naruto turned toward her voice and greeted her. "Morning, Ino!"

Ino slinked into view. She flipped her blond hair behind her and looked around. "No Shino and Hinata yet?" she asked.

"Yup," he answered with another yawn. He stretched out his arms wide over his head. "I just got here a few minutes ago. They should get here soon."

"Hmm," Ino said as she looked him over with her emerald eyes. She smiled.

"You finally got rid of your old uniform. Your new gear looks good on you."

Naruto stopped mid stretch and blinked. He'd forgotten he'd changed his style. He grinned at her. "Hinata said the same thing yesterday."

Ino looked surprised. "Hinata said that? You saw her yesterday?"

"Yeah, right after I got my new uniform. I ran into her in town."

"What?! Was she okay? What exactly did she say?" Ino shrieked with delight. Hinata! Good for you! she silently cheered. She knew about Hinata's feelings for Naruto and was happy for her friend.

"Hm?" Naruto stalled as he tried to find an answer without revealing the truth. He didn't want to talk about it with Ino. Somehow, he felt that it was a secret just between Hinata and himself.

Ino looked at him expectantly and he knew he wasn't going to get away with a fib.

"She said she liked my hair and I look handsome," he eventually said with an embarrassed laugh.