Chapter Text
There stood in front of the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade Senju are two of the most prominent shinobis of their time.
Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga.
Two polar opposites standing in one room, waiting for their other teammate to arrive.
One was cold as ice and struggles to show his true feelings, the other feisty as a lioness and wears her emotions on her sleeves.
To say that Tsunade was amused was an understatement. She knew of the pair's love-hate relationship. In fact, it wasn't just her. The entire village knew.
"Naruto! Aren't you excited?! You and me in a mission together? Isn't that the best news ever?!"
Tsunade averted her eyes at the two and snickered inwardly when she saw Naruto roll his eyes at Hinata who was clinging tightly on his arms.
Despite the cold shrug, the Fifth Hokage knows that the Uzumaki harbors some interesting feelings for the Hyuga. If the disgruntled and upset look on his face everytime Hinata was talking with other guys wasn't enough basis, she doesn't know what else is.
"Cut it out, Hinata. Missions isn't some kind of vacation. Get serious."
Naruto tried his hardest to sound annoyed when he said those words for two specific reasons. One, he truly wanted Hinata to take their upcoming mission seriously. And two, save his poor arm from being squished by Hinata's soft and ample bosom.
He may appear bored and unaffected but he was far from relaxed deep inside.
"Damn. Why does she always act all cute and pretty? Does she not realize that a lot of guys can take advantage of her when she's like that?! Talk about being lax and reckless."
"Oho? I personally think that she could use her looks in taking down an opponent. Kunoichis like her are lethal in battle. Especially to those criminals who are thirsty for some womanly touch."
"Then that's all the more reason why she needs to let her guards up, Kurama! She's too friendly and trusting. That kind of behavior just invites trouble, ya know?!"
"Hmm… Sounds like you're just being a jealous boyfriend, Naruto. Why don't you just admit that you like her too? Cut me some slack, will you? Save me from all your incessant overthinking!"
Naruto popped some veins at Kurama's last words but as he was about to reply, Sakura burst the door open, getting all of their attention. He then took this chance to move away from Hinata which instantly sent relief to his entire body.
"I'm sorry I'm late, Hokage-sama, Naruto, Hinata. Something just came up at the hospital."
Tsunade just waved her hand putting Sakura at ease. The pink-haired then took this as a signal to walk to where her friends at.
Upon seeing her friend, Hinata immediately smiled forgetting Naruto's uncaring attitude.
"It's okay, Sakura. But now that you are all here, I'm going to start and explain the details of the mission."
The three then stood straight, eyes gleaming with razor sharp focus at the woman behind the desk. They might not say it out in the open, but all of them knows that despite being here at a time of peace, there are still a lot of people out there who thrives in doing evil and bad things. Some do it to survive, some just do it out of their desire for power.
"There has been some incidents near the border of Fire Country of children being reported missing. Our intel tells us that there is an organized criminal group who have been lurking around not just in the Fire Country but also in the Water and Wind Country. As to what this group is doing to the kids, I have no idea. They're probably using them to gain money by trafficking and slavery. Either of the two is bad news. I've already coordinated with the Mizukage and Kazekage but as of late, there are still no leads about this so-called gang."
Naruto felt his gut twisting at what he just heard. He didn't like it one bit. The image of children being treated like animals is something he wishes to stop from happening. He's had enough of that.
"However, your mission is not to catch these criminals. I have already sent Shikamaru, Sai and Kiba to conduct a reconnaissance mission around the border."
"Eh? So what is our mission, Tsunade-sama?"
Hinata vocalized Naruto's and Sakura's question.
Tsunade raised her eyebrow momentarily with the sudden interruption but quickly sighed when he saw the three who sharing the same determined look.
"One of our shinobis managed to save a young girl from the criminal group. She's now recuperating at the hospital. I believe that was the reason you were late, Sakura."
Sakura only nodded at the Hokage.
"Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuga; Your mission is to ensure the safety of that kid and her mental well-being. This mission can be regarded as a simple babysitting but that's not the case. I'm certain that the child is undergoing severe trauma from what happened so I want the three of you to tour her around the village and make her forget about all the gruesome things that happened to her. I know this type of mission can be done by alone by anyone, but I want you three to be in this mission because there is still a threat to her life."
"The criminals can come and get her back?"
Tsunade smiled wistfully at the blonde's question.
"There's a possibility for that to happen as we have close to none information about the gang. That's why the three of you are on this mission."
With Naruto's godly power, Sakura's medical expertise, and Hinata's fearsome Byakugan, Tsunade knows no one can come close to the child. And if there's any attempt from the gang to take the child away from their custody, these three could easily apprehend the criminals right there and then.
"We understand, Hokage-sama."
"Good. The mission is effective immediately. You're dismissed."
As soon as they closed the door of the Hokage's office, a deafening grunt hovered over the hallway — Hinata Hyuga's usual shenanigans.
"Damn those bastards! I swear I'm going to fucking kill each one of them!"
"Hinata, calm down. As much as I also want to send those criminals to hell, we should focus on the mission at hand and help that girl. I'm sure Shikamaru and the others are on it. We just have to trust them."
Hinata only huffed as a response but she knew Sakura was right. Even though she preferred hand-to-hand combat over babysitting, she still knows her duty and responsibility in this mission. But the Hyuga just can't help but remember her own terrible childhood and compare it to the child. Though her past is essentially milder than the kids who were kidnapped for slavery, it still sent a bitter taste down her throat.
"Let's go. We don't have all day."
Naruto began to walk ahead of them, suppressing a small smile. Riled up Hinata was his favorite kind of Hinata.
"Just admit it, Naruto."
"You're being very talkative today, Kurama. Though I can't say I like that."
"Bahahahaha! Whatever."
The three then soon arrived at the hospital and sat beside a young girl who was peacefully sleeping on the bed. They noted the bags under her eyes and couldn't help but muffle a curse. Something like this shouldn't be experienced by anyone let alone kids. This was too cruel.
"Sakura, do you know her name?"
Sakura turned to Naruto before shaking her head.
"The nurses who were assigned to her said that she wouldn't talk. She's still probably traumatized after what happened."
The trio grew another frustrated silence as they watched over the girl who was breathing softly. Hinata was about to stand up to buy their group some food when the little girl suddenly fluttered her eyes open and quickly moved away from them, hiding from the corner of the room.
"Hi! Please don't be scared. You're safe here. We're here to protect you."
The child only sunk deeper at the corner with Sakura's words as she looked around, eyes full of questions.
"You're at a hospital in Hidden Leaf Village. One of our comrades saved you. I assure you, as long as you are here, no harm can be done to you."
Hinata noticed the child's shoulder visibly relaxing at Naruto's explanation but she was still standing and trembling at the side.
"You probably don't talk to strangers, right? Hehe! In that case let me introduce my self. My name is Hinata Hyuga. You can call me Hinata or anything you like! This beautiful girl beside me is Sakura Haruno. She's a great doctor so if you feel like you're in pain, she's the person you should go to! That handsome guy over there is my future husband, Naruto Uzumaki. He's the one who saved the world so there's no doubt that he's going to save you and the other kids as well! It's nice to meet you, pretty girl!"
The girl looked at Hinata, eyes gleaming with awe and wonder.
"I'm… I'm… I'm M-Maki."
Sakura was stunned, Naruto even more so. Aside from the generous compliments from Hinata, they also didn't expect that the Hyuga would be so great with kids!
"Nice to meet you, Maki-chan!"
Hinata flashed a warm smile to the girl which was quickly reciprocated by small, shy one.
Sakura and Naruto exchanged a satisfied look at each other. Both of them knows they were in for a tough mission. And they know it would be a long process before Maki fully trusts them. But learning her name was a start. And it was all thanks to Hinata.
"I have a feeling that by the end of this mission, you're going to confess your feelings to that Hyuga girl."
"Beat it, Kurama. I'm not asking for your opinion."
"Hahahahaha! Let's just see how things will end up, Naruto! Nothing ever goes wrong with my intuitions, you know!"
Naruto looked at Maki once again, finally sitting on the bed and smiling like an innocent child.
He then turned to where Hinata was sitting and the sudden surge of pressure enveloping his chest made him furrow his brows.
And all he could hear from then on was Kurama's mocking laugh.