Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto - never have, never will. By the way, I no longer really have a beta/editor, so if someone would be willing to do me the great service, or direct me to someone who could, I'd be oblidged. (Somehow I don't think spell-check alone'll cut it.) Anyways, sorry for the long wait. (Unfortunately, it's habit...) and I hope I'll have the next chapter available soon. (Although it's probably hopeless). I have promised myself though that this fic WILL be finished. So rest assured, folks.

Innocence

Chapter 7: Concealment

Morning light began to tint the forest floor a deep green. Looking up, Hinata could just see the clouds beginning to lighten. It was almost dawn. The four of them hadn't stopped yet since their battle with Tamasine and Toshi, twin chuunin from Sound Village. Kurenai insisted they had to keep moving, had to get as far away as possible before the light. Ino looked like she was about to drop to the ground, and Sakura's legs still seemed a little shaky from the fight.

Finally, Kurenai announced a rest, leading them to a small cave, dug into the side of a mountain. Hinata looked blearily up at it. She could have sworn that same mountain had been a simple dot on the horizon earlier. "We'll stop here," Kurenai explained as they settled in. "We won't want to start up this mountain until we get a good rest. It's a long trip."

"All right," Sakura answered quietly, sitting down on the ground and wrapping her blanket around her. In a few seconds, she was asleep. Ino sat beside her, resting her head on her friend's shoulder. She too, fell asleep quickly.

Kurenai sat down as well, looking at Hinata carefully. There were small crescent-shaped bruises forming behind her ears. The jounin frowned; that wasn't a good sign. The teacher sat back against the cave wall, unpleased. "Any ringing in your ears? You can hear all right?"

"No. I'm fine," the girl answered quietly.

"You just need to rest. There's no other treatment for it right now. I think you've got a skull fracture," Kurenai explained. "We might need to put you on medicine later for swelling."

Hinata said nothing, and simply opened her medical kit. The bottom layer of the box was full of bandages and gauze, among other various supplies. She went to Kurenai, carefully peeling away the field dressing she'd put on her teacher's arm earlier. The dried blood on the bandage flaked off and occasionally the wrap stuck to the wound, but Kurenai remained quiet through the pain. Still silent, Hinata poured water onto a piece of cloth and gently washed the cut. The wound was completely stopped bleeding, but the danger of infection was high.

Taking that into account, the genin added antibiotics to the new bandage she wrapped around Kurenai's arm. Luckily, the single wound was probably Kurenai's most serious injury. Injuries caused by sound probably couldn't be treated anyways. Done with her bandaging, she passed Kurenai a small container of bruise ointment and began to put a different lotion on her own bruises.

"Why so quiet?" Kurenai asked as she opened the container. The medicinal smell of the salve wafted up to bite her nose, and she suppressed a sneeze.

"I'm tired," Hinata tried.

Kurenai just shook her head and glared. "There's something more going on." She paused to dab some ointment on a bruise on her arm. "Is it about the sound-nin?"

Hinata nodded slightly. "I…just don't understand." Kurenai waited through Hinata's silence, knowing the girl would continue when she was ready.

"I just don't understand why I can never do anything right," Hinata finally said, voice breaking with frustration.

"Like what?" Kurenai prodded, already knowing the response.

"On missions. I always do something wrong. I end up hurt, or getting others hurt," Hinata answered quietly, drawing her knees up to her chest. "I can't help it, and I can't stand it."

"But is it really your fault?"

"It feels like it is. I can't even protect myself," Hinata protested, holding back tears.

"You know, I'm not going to spend my time talking you out of this," Kurenai finally answered. "Every time we have this conversation, it's not like it changes. I've told you, you need to believe in your strengths."

"Like what?"

"You know them; you just need to learn to work on them. And I'm not listening to any more right now." Kurenai pulled a blanket out of her pack and began to wrap it around her. "Take first watch. You shouldn't sleep right away after a head injury anyways. Think about what I said. Good night."

Hinata watched forlornly as her teacher pulled her head inside her blanket. Kurenai always told her that she was good at her medicines, and other such things. Sometimes, Hinata harbored a small dream that one day she could be a skilled med-nin, like Tsunade. That dream always died when reality intruded.

Med-nin had to be strong, they had to be fighters, and they had to be brave. They just had to be better than she was. People tried to motivate her, especially her family. Look where that had gotten her. Sighing, she carefully rested her head in her hands, cautious not to jostle too much.

Unbidden, a familiar face surfaced in her memory at the thought of motivation. Naruto. He was the only who actually made her stronger, who made her feel brave. He unearthed something buried deep down inside of her, and he didn't even realize it.

Why did things always end up this way? Things always ended up tangled and messed up until she barely even knew which direction she was headed. She knew it was just self-pity; Kurenai discussed it with her often enough. But if Hinata didn't feel sorry for herself, who would?

No. She couldn't do that. That was why everybody else was stronger; they believed in their own strength. She sighed again. She just needed to find something to believe in. Part of her wanted to just admit it: she wanted to prove herself to her family; she wanted to show them all that they were wrong. However, the quieter, and unfortunately, larger part of her didn't want to say that she wanted to be so rebellious. For now, distraction from her own pity would have to do.

Hinata pulled her novel out of her bag again. It was an old book, one she remembered from younger days. One she could get lost in. All that was left now was to wait for morning to come.

In an instant, she jumped awake, eyes snapping open. Her book lay beside her, dropped when she had dozed off. Worried, she quickly and quietly checked for things that could have gone wrong. Everything was fine. Kurenai and Ino still slept peacefully, and Sakura sat at the mouth of the cave. Her quiet humming carried softly to Hinata's ears. Nothing horrible had happened. Everything was fine. Her error hadn't caused anything awful. It had been a long time since she'd fallen asleep on watch. She let her shoulders relax, calm again. A growing headache began to nag at the sides of her head. Trying to ignore it, she began to quietly pack her things. Sakura heard her and turned.

"You're awake," she stated. "Kurenai told me that I should just let everybody sleep."

Hinata nodded, careful not to move her head too quickly. "When are we supposed to leave?" she asked, glancing at the two sleeping beside her.

"Whenever they wake up," Sakura answered.

"We'll just wait then?"

Sakura shrugged in reply, and then turned to face outside the cave once again. Hinata returned to her packing, wondering why it was so hard for her to talk to other people.

Genjutsu shielded two men from enemy eyes, making them appear as two large birds. The tree they sat it was spindly and skeletal; the harsh wind stripped all the leaves off the branches. The two sat motionlessly, observing the small group below with sharp eyes. Three younger girls and an older woman. Almost recognizable, but not quite.

One of the men sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, sighing in frustration. He thought he'd had the entire bingo book memorized, but he just couldn't place them. He turned to his partner, pushing his wooden mask up on his face. "Dammit, I can't figure out who they are," he muttered, scowling.

His partner turned his unreadable face towards him, leaving his owl mask in place. "The one is, I believe, Yuuhi Kurenai, a jounin from Konohagakure. Main skills: genjutsu. Possesses a currently unknown bloodline," he listed in a deep monotone.

The other man looked at him in disbelief. "You really do have that whole thing memorized," he breathed, unbelieving.

"Don't you?"

"Shut up."

"Everybody ready?" Kurenai asked, putting a final touch on her tattered, worn kimono. The entire ensemble was originally made of fine material, but that had been years ago. She had purposely chosen older, shabby clothing to help their image as a small group of down-at-the-heel singers and dancers.

"Why are we doing this now? We've been in Cloud Country for a while now, haven't we?" Sakura grumbled, concentrating on adjusting the bow in Ino's sash.

"Actually, no. We just entered it last night, and the mountain we're currently resting in is what most people see as the 'beginning' of their sphere of influence," Kurenai explained, turning to inspect her students. All three wore the same type of kimono as well, older and losing their bright colors. Ino's hair had been let down, and Sakura's had been tied up into a small, ladylike bun. Hinata felt small and drab next to them. It was as if she had been colored in black and white, while they were bright and vibrant. Blues and pinks, yellows and greens, while all she had was black and white.

"Ah. Before I forget," Kurenai beckoned to Hinata. "You are wearing contacts. Your eyes are a dead giveaway."

Hinata nodded and accepted the small case from her teacher. She had been told of this before. On any missions involving subterfuge, contacts or genjutsu would be required for her, or anyone of the Hyuuga lineage. When time allowed, contacts were preferred, as they were less vulnerable than genjutsu, and were not detectable by the chakra they used.

None of her missions before had ever required stealth such as this. She had tried contacts out before, just for the experience, but it had been a while. Carefully, she held her eye open and popped one gently in. She blinked as her eye watered a bit, and then placed the other one in. Blinking repeatedly to settle them, she turned to Sakura and Ino. "Do you please have a mirror I can borrow?" she asked politely. Sakura stared at her for a second, before turning to her pack and handing Hinata a small facial mirror.

Sliding it open, she checked her eyes. They looked normal. A dark purple in color, normal human eyes stared back at her. A small hint of the unearthly white remained around the edges, but surprisingly, she liked her appearance. It had been so long since she'd had anything but the Byakugan; she had forgotten how much she liked looking like everybody else. Hinata smiled a bit, and returned the mirror to Sakura. "Thank you," she said softly.

"All right," Kurenai announced, shouldering her pack. "Let's head out."

"Are you hungry again, Yummy?" Naruto asked, unbelieving of the appetite a kitten could have. He set a small plate of tuna down on the ground and watched happily as the cat attacked it voraciously. The boy squatted on the floor next to the animal, watching him eat.

"Sooo…," he began conversationally. "How do you think Hinata's doing?"

The tiny black cat looked up at him and mewed loudly before returning to his food.

"I think she must be doing good too," Naruto answered. "She's grown a lot since I last saw her before the chuunin exams."

Yasuo was uninterested. "Okay," the boy finally said. "I'll be back later.' He patted the cat on the head and stood, heading out to lunch with Iruka once more.

As the group climbed higher up the worn, steep path, the air seemed to get thinner. All of them began to breathe a little harder, and the temperatures dropped. A while later, they came into patches of fog, which became constant. "Must be why they call it Cloud Village," Ino muttered as they walked.

"Really," Sakura replied sarcastically.

"Shh," Kurenai hushed them. "Remember to be quiet, demure, graceful, all that. Use your new names only."

"Yes, Aneko-san," Sakura murmured, bending her head respectfully. Hinata glanced up at Kurenai, noting that the other woman had placed contacts in her eyes as well, darkening them to a deep brown.

"Sound seems to carry better here too," Kurenai warned them. "Watch what you say."

Replies were cut off as the first signs of civilization began to appear. Small shacks and run-down houses littered the ground, dark and seemingly empty. After another bit of walking in silence, a bridge confronted them. It spanned a wide mountain river, and guard booths waited at either end. A man stepped out of the small building to face them, idly spinning a kunai through the fingers of one hand. "Papers," he barked, a simple one-word order.

Kurenai set her pack gently on the ground and pulled a thick sheaf of papers from the top. Meekly, she handed them over, brushing her fingers lightly over his wrist.

The guard ignored her, briskly flipping through the stamped and signed travel papers. "Oki?" he snapped, watching them with sharp eyes. Ino inclined her head. "Kaiya and Nozomi?" he continued. Hinata and Sakura bowed their heads in turn. "Aneko," the guard finished. He flipped through the papers once more before handing them back harshly.

"Move on," he growled.

Kurenai took the papers back, tucking them into the front of her kimono. "Thank you," she purred, continuing with, "I'd be so lucky if I had a man like you to guard my lonesome home." Her lips pursed outward slightly, and a slight flush ran through her cheeks as she smiled softly and looked away.

The guard abruptly cleared his throat and looked down. "Move on, I said," he coughed, voice breaking slightly.

"Thanks again," Kurenai oozed, running her fingers down his arm as she walked away, beckoning the girls to follow her.

Halfway across the bridge, Ino cocked an eyebrow at Kurenai. "The art of seduction?" she asked, rather curious.

"Top of the class," Kurenai smirked. "That was just a warm-up. Turn it up a little more and they're putty in your hands," she added with a large wink.

Ino nodded knowingly. "You won't ever have a chance, Nozomi," she taunted, poking Sakura in the arm.

"What makes you think you have one? Not with that ugly pig face," Sakura shot back.

"That's enough," Kurenai hissed, placing a hand on Ino's shoulder. The two quieted, pointedly ignoring each other. After crossing the bridge, the group remained in a run-down section of the main town. A squat brown building had a battered sign outside, proclaiming it a motel. Kurenai headed towards it, her students trailing after her.

"We're not staying here, are we?" Ino asked, lip curling.

"Indeed we are. Remember, no money?" Kurenai snapped back. "I don't want to hear another word."

"I just don't know if my delicate skin can handle it," Ino sarcastically muttered under her breath.

"Buckle down, princess," Kurenai growled, growing tired of the conversation. "You're not going to be finding any silk sheets here." Ino stuck her tongue out at the older woman, crossed her arms, and pouted.

"Why do we only get one room?" Ino questioned, plopping half-heartedly onto the first threadbare bed. Sakura sat down beside her, while Kurenai and Hinata sat down on the other. "Nobody's watching us here," Ino continued.

"That is where you're wrong. Never assume – it only gets you in trouble," Kurenai said grimly as she began to unpack her things. "Let's leave it at that." A light roll of fabric was hauled out of her pack and set on the bedspread. Unrolling it, Kurenai unveiled a set of detection tools, and used them to search the room for listening devices and hidden jutsu, gesturing at the other three to help her.

Nothing untoward was found, except for a rather displeasing dead mouse in the small, grimy bathtub. Satisfied, Kurenai dug in her pack again, replacing the detection kit and choosing a weapons pack.

These weapons packs were specially designed for kunoichi on surveillance or spy missions. Usually those on that type of mission were deadly, beautiful, and covert, just as these weapons. She unrolled it on the bed and called the girls over. "Covert weapons and operations, surveillance," she stated. "Begin."

Hinata took her teacher's usual cue and spoke quickly and quietly. "The object of a surveillance operation is observation and nothing more. Access can be attempted to more information, but thieving, breaking-and-entering, and other such activity is not included. The main objective is to gain information without revealing your identity or source. In more involved operations, it may take place over a series of months, or even years. Infiltration may take a while, as job positions may need to be earned, as well as the trust of the intended target."

Sakura glanced over at the smaller girl, a little surprised that Hinata knew and could recite so much, especially without stuttering or trailing off.

"Sakura?" Kurenai prompted.

"A variety of weapons can be used covertly," Sakura began in a rush, flushing slightly. "These hairpins," she continued, gesturing to four sets of jeweled ornaments, "are all sharpened to weapons-quality. The middle of each is hollow, but reinforced against breakage. The jewels on the end have a simple genjutsu placed on them to hide their usage as poison containers. Pop the bead, and the poison runs through the needle. Judging by the illusory shape, the poison in these sets is fast-acting, of the five to ten minute variety. They can easily be used as throwing needles, piercing weapons, or fancy hair decorations," she recited, smiling.

They continued through the weapons pack, reciting names, usages, and the peculiarities of each weapon. Steel-edged fans, as well as bladed ones, hidden claws, poisons hidden in all manner of places, spiked rings. All of them were within the case, and as they went over them, Kurenai divided the weapons among them. Each item was added to the girls' ensembles, increasing their weaponry without any outward sign.

Grinning, Ino snapped her steel fan open, getting used to the rather heavy weight. Hers was normally used as a bludgeoning weapon, unlike Hinata and Sakura's, who both had bladed fans. Opened and with a simple touch of chakra, the fan blade hardened, and the seeming silver filigree along the edge sharpened into a blade.

Kurenai watched them experiment, knowing that the covert weapons were basically the same as any other they used, just a different shape. She frowned – Hinata had been quieter than usual today, almost to the point of being mute. Putting it out of her mind for the moment, she announced, "Put it all away, girls. We have to get going."

"Where?" Ino asked, unsure.

"The Kage here holds daily audiences every afternoon," Kurenai explained, tucking away her own weapons. "He seems to have a rather large ego, and a need for publicity."

"So we go to observe." Sakura finished, nodding knowingly.

"Exactly."

"What about singing and dancing and all that?" Ino questioned, curious about their disguises.

"We'll only be here three days, four at the most," Kurenai answered. "If we have to, we'll dance, but otherwise we're just passing through."

The jounin looked around at her three students. Their faces were dull and passive – they looked worried. "Don't worry, girls," she said quietly. "This is just a basic introduction to all this. Just a few days. All you have to do is keep your heads clear, remember your disguises, and don't act too quickly."

Giving them no time for a response, she stood and clapped her hands together. "Let's get going then," she declared, and shooed them out the door. However, some small part of her mind couldn't help worrying.

"Aiko?"

"Yes, Ren?"

"The identities of those four are confirmed."

"And…?"

"Well, they left us some presents at their motel room, but they were easily overcome. Nothing too dangerous. Konohagakure hitai-ate, all four of them, base of their bags. All current."

"Are they in the books?"

"Yeah. Want the names?"

"Yes, Ren. I want the names."

"Ummm…Yuuhi Kurenai, Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura, and Hyuuga Hinata."

"A Hyuuga?"

"I guess."

"Watch them closely. At the first sign…"

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

"Good."

The audience chamber reminded Hinata of a church. Rows of benches were lined up on either side of a long aisle, leading to the Raikage's chair. Really, it looked more like a throne. People filled the seats, and at the front of the room, two women sat beside the Kage himself.

The first woman actually sat in his lap, long legs stretched across him. Her dark hair trailed down on the other side. One of her arms was wrapped lazily around his shoulders, and her eyes were half-closed, perfectly relaxed. The other woman stood just beside the two, uneasy. Dressed all in black, her face was tight and drawn. White-blonde hair hung down, which was unusual, as a Thunder Village hitai-ate was tied tightly around her neck. Although she looked pale and tense, she was unmistakably beautiful, like the first woman.

The Raikage himself looked feminine, with a narrow face, high cheekbones, and large dark eyes. This was fortunately offset by broad shoulders and well-sculpted muscles. His strong arms were visible even underneath the cloth of his white robes. The traditional hat rested on his light-colored hair, beginning to slide unheeding backwards on his head.

The four kunoichi slid quietly into a bench, not taking their eyes off the Raikage. Indeed, it was hard to. He was a captivating man – Kurenai could understand why the man's relatively recent coup had been so successful. He undoubtedly had had many allies. It was hard to put your finger on why. In Kurenai's mind, it was rather like a horrible accident – it was incredibly difficult to tear your eyes away from it.

As they watched, a bell began to ring. At that signal, some people got up and left the room, while others stayed. Hinata and her group moved closer, taking available seats. As they watched, a man came in from a small side door. Fully armed and very nervous, he fidgeted with the collar of his flak jacket as he walked stiffly to the front of the room. Woodenly, he bowed and softly said, "I present myself for your challenge."

Hinata saw Sakura lean forward and ask an older woman something. Turning back to the others, she had an answer for what was occurring. "It's a challenge," she explained. "The Raikage likes watching fights, so he has his bodyguards fight one other, once a week. Sometimes to the death, sometimes not."

"Gruesome," Ino commented, wrinkling her nose and turning to watch. At the front of the room, the purpose of the large cleared space was now clear. The woman dressed in black stood on one side, while the man stood on the other.

"Kana, Keisuke," the Raikage said, his voice bored. "You may begin."

Kana, the woman, shifted into a wide stance, one hand held low at her side, the other extended towards her opponent. Eyes closed, she used her sense to detect her opponent, centering on his scent, his feel, and the sound of his breathing. He wasn't moving, waiting for her to make the first move.

Slowly, she stepped forward, one bare foot pointed delicately at the ground. Moving faster, her other foot darted forward in a neat cross-step, pivoting neatly on the ball of her other foot. Flying towards Keisuke, who shifted into a defensive stance to meet her, her hands crossed over each other, finally striking out in a precisely targeted hit towards Keisuke's collarbone.

Hinata was struck by the resemblance of her attack to a dance. Watching as the blonde shinobi whirled around her opponent, her footwork was delicate and precise, her attacks strong, and her speed more than a match for him. Keisuke blocked with both forearms, wincing as the impact of her stroke jarred his shoulders. It seemed like such a light blow – it was incredibly surprising. Kana took a single step backwards, side-stepped forwards again, and held one palm out towards Keisuke. Without a word or even a hand seal, a blast of flame burst from her hand.

Keisuke narrowly avoided the jutsu, keeping out of the way and attacking Kana from above, kunai in both hands. Violently, he slashed out at her, catching her lightly across one shoulder. He landed roughly on top of her, and as her knees buckled, she grabbed quickly for his ankles. Her fall was, unfortunately for him, a planned move, and as she flipped forward, he pitched forward as well, slamming his head and shoulders into the floor viciously into the floor.

Many of those in the audience winced at the sight of it, and for a moment, he lay still on the floor. Kana knelt by his side, two fingers on his neck. Before she had a chance to feel his pulse, his hand clasped her wrist in an iron grip. He pulled her over him, pushing a knee into her stomach, and throwing her heavily onto the floor, straddling her.

Almost immediately, she was gone, replaced by a log. Neatly, Kana knocked him in the head with a kunai, and he fell to the ground from her hard blow. "Winner," she said quietly, bowing to the Raikage.

"Thank you," he conceded, inclining his head. Then he gestured imperiously at the still form on the ground in front of him. "Remove him."

"Well, that's a nice way to end the day," Kurenai said quietly. "Let's go.

Okay, so maybe there're some OCs in here. They're not going to be too intrusive, but they will play a part in the plot, of course. Also, I'm thinking of including Team Gai in a roundabout sort of way. (Next chapter has the reason.) Yes, no?

Also, within the next chapter, rating WILL go up. Sorry. It gets a little darker, little rougher, and 1) I rather like writing it, and 2) Who am I to tone down the real world?

Thanks for reading!