Behind the Waterfall

#36 Suspicious

"You know, I think, I love you." Naruto said to the girl in his arms, as they watched the sunset.

"You think?" Fuu answered, a smirk on her face as she looked up at him.

"Yeah, I think." The redhead grinned back at her.

"Well, let me make sure of that." The black haired girl crossed her arms behind Naruto's neck, pulling herself up to sit in front of the boy. He laughed a bit at her antics before his girlfriend pulled him towards her, catching his lip in a heated kiss.

It took a few minutes for the pair to separate. When they did, the sky was drenched in red, the sun having lowered itself behind the treeline.

"I think I love you too." Fuu mumbled, their foreheads resting against each other.

"You think?" Naruto replied, both laughing at that.

"How long do you want to stay here?" The redheaded teen asked, as the last rays of the sun disappeared from the sky.

"I don't know. We can't take too many jobs around here, because we run the risk of getting discovered. I would say we stock up on supplies, maybe take one or two missions and then we get out of here." Fuu suggested. Naruto nodded, he didn't really feel safe in the village, the whole deal with Akaru having made him weary of Shibuki and his intentions.

"Let's go and look at the black board then." He said, standing up and pulling his girlfriend up as well.

They walked through the village, the streets being almost empty as the sound of the waterfall created a lot of background noise. There were no street lamps, the only source of light being the lit up windows where people were still awake. Getting to the marketplace, the place looked much larger than by day, no open stalls, no people, no shouting. It made for a good time to get an overview of the many different stalls, many stalls in the corner had been barely visible by day, the other stalls with their displays blocking the way. However there was nothing that seemed interesting to Naruto so he focused back on why they had come here. Making their way to the black board they looked over the many listings there, many of which were just small ones to help with setting up the shops or packing them together.

There was only one that seemed to be better suited to Naruto and Fuu:

It called for an escort from Takigakure to Janpugakure. It seemed to be a standard job, no important goods or people, just a group of merchants that didn't want to take the chance.

The pair took the note from the blackboard, before walking back towards their hotel room. They would go to the contact on the paper in the morning while stocking up on their supplies.

"I am surprised that you came already. I imagined it would take a few days for someone to take our mission." The woman in the stall stated, looking at her own note, that Naruto was holding.

"Lucky circumstances." Fuu commented, shrugging her shoulders.

"I guess. Anyways, we will meet up at the gate in three days. There you will meet the others." The blonde explained. She had introduced herself as Melina, stating that she was from Janpugakure. However Naruto had become suspicious when she avoided questions about the other people in her party, remembering how Akaru had been able to manipulate him into coming here, although that had worked out for the best. He smiled as he looked at Fuu who was still talking to the woman, their topic having shifted to her shop's contents.

"No, I never really thought about it like that. I guess I am a weaponsmith." The shopkeeper said. Her stall was centered around her ability to give normal items a defensive use, mostly catering to the civilian population who wanted to be able to defend themselves even though they didn't have the training or capability to use chakra. There were beautiful fans, small blades sewn into their edges, a few canes that had a blade hidden in the handle. But there were even more inconspicuous items in her collection; a small purse where the strap was able to detach from the bag, unsheathing a blade, there were also a pair of earrings which each had a small smoke bomb integrated.