Chapter Text
The crease of concentration etched on his forehead for hours was nearly carving early wrinkles into his skin. His eyes slid from one ideogram to the next while his bandaged fingers scribbled notes onto a piece of parchment. The weary rays of a summer afternoon filtered through the polished window of his office, brushing against the back of the Hokage’s neck. The sunlight glimmered over his freshly trimmed blond hair, giving him an almost celestial glow under its pale tone. The long white cloak draped over his shoulders, embroidered with the word Seventh, concealed within it a body sculpted by years of shinobi training, and the weight of duties that never left a leader’s back.
Sorting through the list of Chunin Exam passers, Naruto had been reviewing the Academy students’ files for hours. That year, the number of those who passed had been significantly higher than the previous one, and that fact pleased the Hokage. It was wonderful to witness the children’s progress, and to see how they still held interest in the shinobi way of life.
“Hokage-sama.”
The silence of the room was broken by a knock on the door and a voice calling out. Without pausing the ink flowing across the paper, Naruto allowed entry to Konohamaru Sarutobi, a Jounin who had graduated with honors and was now half-leaning through the door’s opening to report:
“The Intelligence Division requests your presence immediately, sir.”
“For what?” He replied, still focused on the papers before him.
“The border patrol captured an intruder attempting to flee through the eastern wing. They request your assistance with the interrogation.”
Naruto finally lifted his eyes from the students’ files.
“Alright. Let them know I’m on my way.”
As he stood, a vein in his temple throbbed faintly. Intruders were always troublesome to deal with, especially those who resisted the relentless interrogations led by Ibiki Morino, the head of Konoha’s Intelligence Division. Sasuke would have been a far better option for this kind of situation, but it wasn’t as though they could summon him whenever they wished. Naruto already had his hands full with the Chunin Exams season; if he could, he’d gladly dump this headache onto his friend’s lap without a second thought.
Drawing in a deep breath, the Hokage of the Leaf rounded his desk and headed for the door, silently lamenting the pile of work he’d be leaving behind. With steady steps and squared shoulders that bore the weight of his position, Naruto made his way to the Intelligence Division tower, where Ibiki awaited him.
“Good afternoon, Hokage-sama. My apologies for the inconvenience.”
“Good afternoon, Ibiki. It’s alright. How can I help? Who’s the intruder?”
Ibiki explained as they made their way toward the interrogation room.
“She was captured trying to escape through the eastern gates. Put up a fight against a few Jounin, but eventually surrendered. She had ninja tools and several scrolls we believe were stolen from the Academy. She refuses to say who she works for or what her motives are. I thought to call you before resorting to my usual methods. My suspicion is that she’s a spy.”
Naruto nodded as they entered the room. Given the lead to step in first, his crystal-blue eyes flickered the moment they landed on the female figure sitting on the other side of the glass, legs crossed, a serene expression painted across her face.
He fought hard not to show a reaction, but his heart still jolted in his chest, so fiercely it nearly broke his composure. Through the glass, she seemed to look straight back at him, even though he knew she couldn’t possibly see from her side. Yet, as if she somehow sensed his arrival, the faintest curl tugged at the corner of her soft, pink lips, sending a rush of sensations through Naruto that he had tried to bury ever since the first time he met that woman.
“Did she at least give you her name?” he asked Ibiki beside him, masking his surprise.
“She only gave a codename, Hime.”
Naruto’s jaw tightened. Of all the surprises a leader could face during working hours, this one unsettled him more than any other.
With a sigh, he asked to be let in.
“I’ll handle this.”
The moment he stepped through the door, her eyes drifted toward him. With a restrained smile full of secrets, she greeted him with that melodic voice he remembered far too well.
“What an honor, having the Hokage himself here for my interrogation. I must really be trouble, then.”
She was so much more than that.
Naruto walked forward until he stood before her. Trying to keep his composure, he slipped his hands into his pockets and looked down at her, sitting there as if this were nothing more than a casual conversation.
“Hime, right?” he began. “What were you planning to do with the stolen scrolls? Were you sent by someone?”
The smile she threw his way was intoxicating, playful, almost mocking.
“Straight to the point? No small talk? Hmm, I’m not sure I like that approach.” She shifted her crossed legs, resting an arm along the back of the chair. “I thought the Hokage was supposed to be kinder to ladies.”
“You’re not a lady, you’re a kunoichi who infiltrated my territory and tried to steal from me. I’d like to know why.”
“I was bored, I suppose. Decided to test my skills.” She gave a light shrug, utterly unbothered. “Apparently, I still need more training if I got caught.”
There was nothing modest about her, certainly not in the cascade of dark hair spilling over her shoulders. Naruto knew perfectly well her skills were anything but questionable. That was precisely why he was so intrigued, why had she allowed herself to be caught by his security team?
“Testing your skills by breaking into another village? An interesting choice of method.”
“I like danger. It excites me.” She lifted her lashes at him, suggestive. “And as for the scrolls, I was going to return them, I swear. Just borrowing them for a bit.”
The deliberately innocent blink annoyed Naruto; he knew she was toying with him.
“Don’t waste my time, Hime. Who do you work for, and why are you here?”
“I don’t work for anyone. I’m a lone wolf. I was just passing through, like I said. I didn’t mean to bother anyone or interrupt the Hokage’s busy schedule.” She smiled. “My deepest apologies, Nanadaime-sama.”
The malice-laced tone when she used his title made Naruto’s stomach twist. She noticed the falter in his blue eyes as they drilled into her. She was clearly enjoying the moment.
“You should be grateful I’m even here. I’m sure you’re not familiar with Ibiki’s methods yet, our finest interrogator. What we can’t get through courtesy, he gets out of people by other, harsher means.”
She feigned horror.
“So this is Konoha’s dark little secret for getting answers?”
“You’ll find out soon enough if you don’t cooperate.”
Her expression shifted again, like an actress trying out faces. The mocking look returned.
“My apologies, Nanadaime-sama. I promise I’ll be a good girl.”
“Good.”
“But not today.” She bit back a laugh. “I’m in the mood to test limits, but not mine.”
Gritting his teeth, Naruto issued an ultimatum.
“What do you want?”
“You’ll have to try harder to find out.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, tilting her head slightly as if studying his every reaction. The moment her gaze locked with his, she knew she’d gotten exactly what she wanted, but that the interrogation was far from over.
“Very well.” Naruto turned his back to her, hand reaching for the doorknob. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Leaving the room, he approached Ibiki.
“Keep her detained for now, charge her under theft. I’ll continue the interrogation tomorrow morning.”
Ibiki couldn’t help but question him.
“Theft, sir? But Nanadaime-sama, she’s clearly more than just a thief.”
“I know. But we’ll let her believe that’s what we think. I suspect she’s a spy too, but we’ll proceed carefully. For now, keep her where I said.”
Without pressing further, Ibiki nodded to the Hokage. Without another glance back, Naruto left the facility, returning to the rest of his day’s duties.
(…)
Naruto hadn’t wanted to, but he ended up taking his work home. He couldn’t stand another sleepless night in that office. He needed his bed, even if only for a few hours of rest.
The real obstacle to focusing on his work, however, wasn’t exhaustion, it was the prisoner he had interrogated earlier. He’d avoided thinking about those eyes for so long that seeing them again had left him dazed. He truly hadn’t expected to ever cross paths with her again after their last meeting.
But then again, that was always how it went. She’d appear out of nowhere, find some way to tear apart his sanity, and vanish the next day without a trace.
Damn the day their paths first crossed.
Letting out an impatient sigh, Naruto set his pen aside and rubbed at his eyelids, trying to shake off the drowsiness. He’d left the kettle boiling on the stove to make some herbal tea, something that usually helped him unwind when his mind was overloaded and his body was close to giving out.
He stood, rolling his neck until it cracked softly from side to side. Barefoot and with the button of his pants undone, he walked to the kitchen, the cool breeze from the window brushing against the fine hairs on his bare chest. He frowned, wondering when he had left it open. Closing it, he turned back to the kettle. The mug was already waiting on the table, filled with dried leaves, ready to receive the hot water. Naruto poured it in and watched as the liquid darkened. The rising steam warmed the tip of his nose as he inhaled the sweet scent that drifted upward.
He returned to the low table in his living room, ready to dive back into his work for a little while longer before finally calling it a night. Leaning against the chair’s backrest, he took a slow sip of the tea, feeling the warmth spread through his palms. It was perfect, as always.
He set the cup down beside him and picked up his pen again, but didn’t write a word. A faint sensation brushed the back of his neck, and slowly, he turned to look toward the living room behind him.
Naruto lived alone. He was used to the silence that surrounded him, and precisely because of that, he always knew when the silence was trying to tell him something.
Once again, his bare chest took another lash of cold wind, this time coming from the living room window. Outside, the night draped over the village in quiet stillness, only a few distant lights glowing at the late hour while crickets sang beyond the walls. Naruto stretched out his arms to pull the window doors shut, but his next movement wasn’t to close them.
A metallic blur sliced past his right side, the cold edge of a shuriken grazing his ear. With a sharp twist of his neck, Naruto dodged the blade and spun around, ready to block the next strike from his intruder. Two feet came flying toward his chest, and he caught them with his forearms before pushing forward in counterattack.
A low growl left his throat as he lunged, irritation sparking in his gut. His strikes were met with equal precision, each blow deflected with infuriating elegance. The intruder wore black from head to toe, perfectly blending into the night, a mask covering their mouth and nose.
Dodging one of Naruto’s punches with a fluid backflip, the assailant pulled a kunai from their utility belt. Naruto now stood at a disadvantage, but that didn’t bother him. He knew those movements, every pivot, every stance, and he was ready for them.
He made the first move, sidestepping the sharp kunai and twisting his arm to disarm the attacker. When the weapon slipped from their grip, Naruto seized the opportunity, wrapping his arms around the intruder from behind, locking their body against his. He was ready to throw them onto the couch, but with a swift, calculated motion, the masked figure slipped free of his hold and struck him squarely in the abdomen with an open palm. The impact forced Naruto backward; he barely managed to block the follow-up kicks.
But the moment he spotted a weakness in their stance, he took it.
Retreating toward the kitchen mid-fight, an intentional move, he managed to snatch the fallen kunai off the floor. From his crouched position, he hurled it forward; the weapon flashed through the air, forcing the intruder to block. That single heartbeat of distraction was all Naruto needed.
By the time the attacker straightened their torso again, Naruto was already on them, pinning their skilled fists and forcing their body hard against the wall. Balancing on the balls of his bare feet, he hooked the fallen kunai up with a quick flick and caught it deftly in hand, pressing the blade to the intruder’s throat without hesitation.
With one swift pull, he tore the mask away, revealing long strands of dark, blue-tinted hair spilling from beneath the hood. The contours of a woman’s face came into view, her gray eyes glinting with amusement, a mischievous smirk already curling her lips as if she’d been expecting this moment all along.
“The Hokage’s still in shape, I see. Good to know time hasn’t made you rusty, Naruto.”
He exhaled sharply, the sound brushing against her lifted chin, irritated by that smug, aristocratic tilt of her nose. Still, some of the tension in his shoulders eased the moment he truly looked at her.
“Don’t you know how to knock or just break in like a normal shinobi?”
“I’m not any kunoichi, and you know that.”
“Good to see you too, Hinata or should I call you Hime?”
Her lips curved wider, wickedly pleased.
“For you, I’ll be whatever you want, darling.”
“How did you manage to get out of the Division?” Naruto’s tone was clipped, the kunai still grazing the exposed line of her throat.
“Did you really think that cell could hold me? You wound me, Hokage. It was barely a challenge. I even had time to drop by your place before you did.”
“You couldn’t wait one damn day?”
“I had the distinct impression you were planning to let me rot in there. You seemed… tense when you saw me.”
“It must be because you showed your damn face to my Jounin. Why did you do that? Why let yourself get caught?”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“Don’t play with me, Hinata! If you needed to talk to me, you could’ve just used our…
Naruto stopped mid-sentence, shaking his head as a sudden dizziness washed over him. He blinked a few times, vision blurring until there were two of her standing before him.
“Feeling alright, Nanadaime-sama?” Her melodic voice slipped into his disoriented ears, and his grip faltered, the kunai clattering to the floor.
“What… did you do?” He stumbled backward, his body suddenly heavy as lead. His knees buckled beneath him, and he dropped to the floor, fighting against an invisible haze threatening to drown his senses.
Hinata stepped closer, her movements deliberate and unhurried. Before he could collapse completely, her hand caught the back of his neck, steadying him.
“Nothing much. Just added a special little herb to your tea earlier. You work too hard, you deserve some rest.”
“Hina…”
“Shhh. Don’t say a word, my dear. Your favorite spy will take good care of you.”
The press of soft lips, gentle, deliberate, was the last thing Naruto felt before consciousness slipped from his grasp.