Why Dogs Howl at the Moon

A/n: don't own Naruto blah blah blah.

Kiba was walking through the village with his hands in his pockets. His dog was sitting on his head snoring away. The dog woke when a familiar scent caught their nose. Turning they saw their teammate Hinata talking with Naruto. A soft growl escaped Kiba's throat. The Hyuuga heiress was blushing and he was sure stuttering. It pissed him off when she talked to Naruto but there was nothing he could do about it. He wasn't going to allow his possessive nature get in the way. If she thought for a moment she'd be happy with Naruto he'd walk on by and try to find someone else. With a swift leap he was on a roof top watching his crush try to talk to hers. He'd never admit to anyone that he loved her except to his dog companion. Akamaru whimpered softly.

"I know boy," he stated softly.

"You should stop torturing yourself," Shino replied absently.

Kiba had been so distracted he hadn't even heard the ever silent bug master approach. Kiba turned his hard gaze on his teammate before turning his gaze back towards where Hinata was. Naruto was gone and Hinata was talking with Sakura.

"I'm not torturing myself," Kiba replied.

He was sure if he could have seen Shino's eyes they would have rolled. Kiba knew his words weren't that convincing. Akamaru growled softly. Hinata turned their direction and Kiba bolted not wanting her to see him. He bound from roof top to roof top trying to out run what was running through his head and his heart. His entire emotional state was in chaos. Only she could do that to him. Closing his eyes he let out a heavy sigh. He came to rest in a tree above Team 8's training grounds. Akamaru came to rest on the branch beside him. Kiba knew that his partner liked Hinata too. She always brought the dog treats and always rubbed his belly. The dog ninja reached out and scratched behind his canine partners ears. His sensitive hearing made him start and turn to see the girl of his dreams walking into the clearing. Her hair had grown out a bit since their Chunin days. It made her all the more beautiful in his eyes. She had obtained a grace that she hadn't had before.

"Kiba-san the Hokage has requested to see us," she said softly.

He was sure that if it weren't for his keen hearing he wouldn't have heard her. Akamaru barked and wagged his tail. The inu ninja sighed as he leapt down to land beside her. For some reason a small blush appeared on her cheeks. He grinned at her. The Hyuuga heiress smiled and the two of them walked towards the Hokage's tower. Shino was already there when the two arrived. His head was down and his arms crossed. The bug master looked up as they entered. Hinata sat down gracefully in a chair. Kiba turned towards the window and stared out of it to keep his mind off of how beautiful she was. It didn't take long for the Hokage to call them in and explain their mission orders. They would be heading into enemy territory to retrieve a scroll that had been stolen. They were also informed to pack heavy clothing. Kiba grumbled knowing that this was going to be a mission were snow was going to be involved. Rubbing the bridge of his nose he looked at his companions wondering for a moment what they were thinking about. There was something missing about the information that he was getting about this mission. It seemed as if there was a big part that wasn't being said. He decided that this mission was going to be a pain in the ass mission. They were to pack and meet at the front gates early in the morning. Kiba tiredly retreated to his home and ignored everyone. Rubbing the bridge of his nose he laid back on his bed and went to sleep.

A few days later found them trudging hip deep in snow. Kiba growled as he tripped yet again. Akamaru yelped as his master face planted in the snow. He grumbled but the tinkle of bells made him start. Looking up Hinata had her hand covering her mouth trying to stifle the laughs. Kiba brushed the snow from his face as he stood and looked at her. A blush spread across her cheeks. He couldn't tell if it was from the biting cold or the fact that she might be blushing. A smirk appeared on his face as he gathered some snow in his hand and without warning he lobbed it towards Hinata. A peal of laughter escaped her as she dodged it and by mistake it hit Shino right in the face. That brought the children within them. A full scale ninja snowball fight erupted. They landed in a heap upon each other. Kiba couldn't remember the last time he had time to play like this. Blinking a second he realized that it had never happened before, well not with his teammates in the dog pile to say the least. Akamaru got out of the pile and shook himself. All of them laughed in their own way. Shino got up. Kiba tried to get off of Hinata but slipped and their lips met. The Hyuuga turned a blood red and then passed out. Kiba got off with a small blush. Shaking his head the inu ninja picked up his unconscious partner.

"Shall we go?"

Shino just tipped his head before dashing off. "Come on Akamaru."

The dog barked happily before trotting off ahead of them. The urge to bury his nose in her hair and take in her scent he held back.

"Kiba?" her quiet voice came from underneath his chin.

"Hm?" he asked.

"LOOK OUT!!!"

Kiba barely dodged the barrage of kunai launched in their direction. He leapt backwards to avoid the kunai decked with exploding tags.

"Put me down!" Hinata said over the explosions.

Shino was at their side at a moment blocking the attacks. Kiba sat Hinata down and the three of them had their backs towards the others facing outward. Their kunai at the ready. The Hyuuga heiress was using her family's secret Byakugan. The ninjas that were surrounding them were running in a fast circle around them. Kiba froze. The sound of cracking made him tense. Akamaru was whimpering in his jacket. Kiba dove for Hinata. Once his arms wrapped around her waist the ground gave way beneath them. He cushioned her head against his chest and whimpered in pain as his back hit the hard ground. The inu ninja bit his lip to prevent the howl of pain from escaping his lips. Darkness clouded his vision.

He came to feeling warm fingers gliding over his skin. A groan escaped his lips as the fingers ran over a particular sore spot.

"Kiba?" he heard a hesitant voice ask.

"I'm alive," he groused.

"I'm sorry," she stuttered.

Kiba tried to sit up but didn't make it far before his vision swam and his arms gave out. A soft grunt escaped his throat as his sore back hit a hard cold surface.

"Don't move Kiba you broke a few ribs. I healed them to the best of my knowledge."

The inu ninja stilled as he felt her fingers run through his unruly brown locks. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as her soothing scent washed over him. She shifted his head until it rested in her lap. Her fingers kept up their soothing motion.

"Kiba can I ask you something?"

"Hm?" he asked tiredly.

"Why do dogs how at the moon?"

"Wolves howl at the moon, Hinata."

Akamaru's ears perked up. The small dog moved until he was laying next to his partner. "They do it because on the full moon night they feel connected to the earth more closely. They do it to be closer to their pack-mates."

Kiba reached up even though it hurt and touched her face gently. "And the lonely ones do it to call to their mates."

A small smile graced her pale features. Her fingers kept running through his unruly locks. Kiba absently thought about how he could get use to her fingers running through his hair. The sound of shifting rocks made her hands still and he almost whimpered from the feelings. Akamaru was up and growling at the potential threat. The dog stilled when he caught the person's scent. He barked at his master telling him who it was.

"It's Shino."

Hinata nodded absently as her stance relaxed. Kiba sighed softly. Their sappy moment was over. He would be sure to make time to tell her before he did something stupid. Shino came up and helped Kiba to his feet and the inu ninja bit his tongue to avoid blasting out violent curses.

"Mission has been completed."

"Huh?" Kiba asked in-between gasps of pain.

Shino held up a scroll. He tucked it back in his coat before wrapping his arm around the injured nins waist. Hinata mirrored Shino's movements. Akamaru paced ahead of them as they moved their way up the snow bank. They stood there looking over the vast white terrain.

"Let's go home," Kiba suggested.

Hinata nodded and the three nin and the dog familiar headed back towards their village. It took longer for them to get there due to Kiba's injuries. Once arriving Kiba was taken to the hospital. Shino and Hinata took the scroll to their Hokage and writ up their reports about the mission. After that was all said and done Shino went home and Hinata went to visit her injured teammate.

The hospital was quiet as she entered the front doors. No one stopped her as she went behind the front desk and checked for where Kiba was. For once she was glad she worked here and knew what she was looking at. Carefully she made her way upstairs. One of her nurse friends saw her and winked at her before letting her pass. Hinata stood in front of the door and wrung her hands nervously. Looking over her shoulder she saw friend gesture to go in. She gulped not knowing why she was being so nervous. They've been teammates for a very long time. It was almost like yesterday when they were chosen to be on the same team together. Gulping she opened the door slowly. The only movement in the room after she shut the door was Akamaru raising his head but other than that nothing. Slowly she moved towards the bed. Akamaru was laying at the edge of the bed because he couldn't sit on his master's chest. She reached out and patted the dog on the head before moving towards the head of the bed.

"You're up late," a raspy voice stopped her movements.

"I wanted to see how you were doing," she stuttered softly.

His eyes came open and he tilted his head to look at her. A blush spread across her cheeks at his crooked grin. The injured nin knew better than to try and sit up but he fought to sit up anyway. He gasped as his ribs protested. Hinata was at his side in a moment pouring her healing energies into his ribs trying to sooth the pain. Kiba sighed softly.

"Thank you Hinata."

Their eyes met and something drew him forward. The blush on her face grew. His lips gently touched hers. Before he could deepen the kiss she pitched backwards. Kiba managed to catch her only to have her weight throw him and they ended up in a heap on the floor. The inu nin groaned in pain. He gently shook her trying to get her to wake up it would be really embarrassing if someone came in with them both on the floor like this.

"Hinata wake up," he growled.

Her eyes fluttered open.

"Kiba?"

"You passed out and I went to catch you. The rest is obvious."

"I am so sorry!"

She moved but it only caused more pain to shoot through his already bruised body. Hinata stilled. Kiba looked down into her lavender colored eyes and got lost in them. Her fingers came up and ran through his hair again. He reached up and caught her hand and placed it against his cheek.

"I love you," he whispered softly against her hand.

She stilled, and fear ran through him. 'Was she going to reject him?' he asked himself. The look in her eyes made him still. There was something there that he'd never seen before. He only dared to hope that it was love shining in her eyes. In shock she pulled him down and their lips met again. He pulled back staring at her in bewilderment.

"I love you too."

A blush spread across their cheeks. Kiba maneuvered his way to sit up and lean against the bed with Akamaru's help. Hinata helped him up into the bed and got him situated under the covers. Kiba was in a happy daze that he couldn't shake.

"I'll come back tomorrow," she said softly.

He nodded. She kissed him once more on the lips before heading out the door. Kiba fell asleep with a big smile plastered on his face.

A few nights later people swore they saw Kiba howling at the moon.