Best Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

This is how I think Hinata may have met Kiba. Goes all the way until after they're teammates.

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Chapter 1 - First Impressions

I watch in wonder as the boy wrenched free from his sister and ran down the street. I move to go forward, but my father grabs me and holds me back.

"I know how curious that boy makes you, but you must not, I repeat not, talk to him ever," my father says in a firm voice. "He's a part of the 'dog ninja' clan in our village. They are monstrous creatures that are really dangerous!" he tells me.

"But…he didn't seem like a monstrous creature…" I murmur in my soft, timid voice. I look up at my father with confused eyes. I then turn to the sister of the strange boy.

"Grrr…" She stares in the direction the boy ran off to. "For the love of…" She strolls down the street exactly where the boy had run through just a few minutes ago. She doesn't seen to be in any hurry to get her brother back, though.

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That was the first time I saw him. The second time was at school.

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"God! Will you stay still for even a second, you beast?" the teacher screams. The boy doesn't even flinch; instead he puts a finger in his ear.

"Don't need to shout…" the boy mutters indifferently. He turns beast-like calm eyes at the teacher. "Akio-sensai…leave me alone, will ya?"

I gasp, never hearing someone be so disrespectful to a teacher before. I look at him sadly when Akio-sensei slaps him hard in the face.

"Don't touch me!" the boy cries out, glaring at Akio-sensei. The dog clan member steps back slightly, an angry look on his face. "I told you to leave me alone! Why won't nobody leave me alone?" He turns and flees out of the academy building.

"Good riddens," Akio-sensei mutters.

"Um…Sensei?" I look up timidly at the ninja teacher. "Why are you so mean to that boy? I mean…what has he done?"

He looks down at me, surprised. He bends down and puts his hand on my head degradingly. "Nothing you have to worry your pretty head about, Hinata-chan," Akio says, smiling brightly at me.

"How can you say that when you hurt him like that?" I question in my head. I turn to the direction where the boy had run off to. I make up my decision and follow quickly.

In a clearing, I finally catch up to him. He's really fast!

"What do you want?" the boy snaps, turning to face me. An angry look covers his face. "Came to bug me about my family like everyone else does?" he sneers.

I take a step back. "N-no…" I stutter out. "I wanted to know why you're supposedly so dangerous…" I tell him.

He sighs and calms down. "Why would you want to know? I mean…you're told to stay away from me, no?" I nod cautiously. "Why then? Why would you want to know?" he asks in a rough voice.

"B-because…you don't seem all that d-dangerous to me. You seem misunderstood and h-hot tempered." I look straight into his beast-like eyes.

"Hmm…you're weird…" he tells me. He looks at me closely. "You're the only person other than my family to talk to me normally…" he informs me. "Who are you?"

I smile at him. "My name's Hinata Hyuuga. And you are?"

He looks at me closely. "Hyuuga? Yer that princess of the Hyuuga clan?" He backs away slowly. "I could get killed fer talking to you…" He turns and bolts away from me.

"But…wait!" I cry, reaching out uselessly. "I wanted to find out what you were like…" I murmur as he vanishes through the trees.

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"You stupid freak!"

I quickly turn and look into the alley closest to me. I saw the dog-clan boy and three other boys from the academy.

"God! Leave me alone, will ya?" The boy's voice is calm as he stares impassively at the 3 guys. He turns to walk away, but one with light blond hair grabs his arm, pulling him back. "Don't touch me…" he growls.

The blond boy yanks him further into the alley. "My, my!" he chuckles confidently. "Aren't you a scary one…" He motions to the two others, one a black haired boy and the other black/blue haired.

"Scram! I don't feel like fighting with air-heads right now!" the dog-boy retorts coldly. Otherwise, he was almost completely calm.

"Air heads?" The blond boy slugs the 'monster' right in the face. I gasp out quietly, not knowing what to do. "I'll show you how much of an 'air head' I am!" He hits the boy again and again, cackling with evil laughter.

The brown haired boy looks up, blood slightly running down his chin and a black eye starting to form on his right eye. "I wouldn't have done that if I were you…" he warns softly.

"Oh?" the black/blue haired guy questions, pulling his arm back in a ready punch. "Really now?"

"Ya…" The boy lunges at the blond, easily over-powering him. "This is for everything you've done to any person who's not as 'good' as you!" he says, whacking him strongly.

He gets up after that and stalks out of the alley, not noticing me hiding there and spying on him.

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"That's right, Akio-sensei! He attacked us in the alley over there!" the blonde boy cries out pitifully to the sensei. The blond boy is the only one of the tree to show even the faintest signs of getting hurt and even that was only a mild black eye.

Akio-sensei doesn't look fazed be any of this, though. All he does is put his hand on the blond's head. "Kiba! Get the hell over here!" he orders. I watch the dog clan boy walk over from his desk. "Did you do this?"

Kiba looks over at the blond through dark eyes, his hand resting on his slightly bruised arms. "Yes," he says calmly and without hesitation. I take a good look at Kiba. His arms were covered in bruises and slight cuts, same with what you could see from his legs below the shorts he is wearing. I could see a faint bruise lining his left eye slightly. "If he said it was me, who else could it be?"

'Why is he saying it was him? He didn't do anything like that!' I think carefully, my gray eyes widening at his words.

"Why on Earth did you do this, Kiba?" the teacher snaps at the bruised boy.

Kiba looks up into Akio-sensei's harsh eyes and grins wildly. "Training," was all that he put. "Though they didn't make good sparring partners...just a buncha' weaklings."

Akio pulls his hand back. "Don't!" I scream out. I hurry over there as the small group looks at me in shock. "D-don't hit-t h-him!" I stutter, staring into the teacher's eyes spleadingly. "Please, Akio-sensei...it wasn't him!" I stand in front of Kiba.

Kiba emits a small gasp of shock. "What are you talking about? Of course I attacked him! You're just stupid, Hyuuga!"He pushes me slightly, gently, before taking off out of the school. "You're all a buncha' idiots!" he screams back at us.

"K-Kiba!" I stare in shock as he runs away from the school before realizing that he's running away from everything. "I...I'll..." I stare at the sensei before running after him. I catch up to him when he stops at the edge of the forest. "Kiba?"

His head snaps up and he turns sharply. "What do you want, Hyuuga?" he spits out angrily. He walks slowly over to me, a confused yet menacing look on his face. "Well?"

I look up at him with wide eyes. "I...I...I...I want t-to know why y-you l-lied back th-there!" I stutter out. "I s-saw w-what hap-ppened yesterd-day..."

Kiba slouches slightly, taking a long, deep breathe. "You're way to shy, Hyuuga..." he murmurs. He turns away from me slightly. "Why? Because I'd be in more trouble if I didn't. Don'cha' know that I'm the person who ALWAYS starts the fighs according to them, Hyuuga?" He turns to me again, this time with a calm expression.

"Y-yes...but y-you don't!" I give him a shy, confused look. I walk over and place a hand on his shoulder. "D-do they do th-this just because you're from the d-dog clan?" My stuttering diminishes slightly.

He snorts slighty, squirms out of my grip and plops down on the ground. "Why else?" He lays down and looks up at the tree he's laying beneath. "Also...why are you so nice to me?"

I smile softly and sit down next to him. "Because...I'm curious t-to know what you're l-like..."

He sits up. "We need to do somethin' 'bout that stuttering problem of yours..." he says, grinning. From where I was I could see he had canine fangs.

"W-what?"

He sighs and says it slowly, pretending that I'm stupid and he has to say it slowly so I understand. "You have a stuttering problem. And it is kinda' annoyin' now that I mention it..."

I blush slightly at his words. "I-I'm sorry!" I look down, trying to hide my blushing face.

"Gods...yer strange, know that Hyuuga?" He places his hand under my chin and pushes it up so I'm looking at him. "It's definitely a problem, though." He smiles softly at me. "Names Kiba Inuzuka!" He grins.

"I'm H-Hinata Hyuuga. Nice to see you'll f-finally let me get to know you..." I say with a small smile.

"Eh? When did I say that?" He looks at me with a confused look. Then he smiles. "Sure...if you don't tell anybody from yer family. They will get mad and I don't know what they'll do." His dark brown eyes held such a pleading look that I couldn't disagree with him. When I told him so, he laughs and thanks me for promising to keep our friendship secret from my family.

"Kiba?" I question out softly. "Can you tell me w-why you and your family a-are so badly repudiated?" I question a story. I push my fingers together in a nervous action. 'Maybe I shouldn't have asked that...' His face was passive and unrespoding.

"Err...what on Earth does repudiated mean?" he questions. I blink and give him a 'are-you-serious' look. He nods and turns away stubbornly not showing his embarassment.

"What I asked is why the rest of the village so badly treats you and your family..." I explain, giggling over the fact that he didn't know what repudiated means. I mean...he's eight years old!

"You didn't stutter..." he points out calmly, ignoring the fact that I am laughing at him.

I blink and think back to when I said that. "Y-you're right...I d-didn't..."

"Oh! It's back!" he teases. He grins and lays back down onto the soft, green grass. "And to answer your question...it's because we're mongrels. We're wild and unpredictable. The Inuzuka clan is one with extremely harsh chakra and completely unknown in how they'll use it. We are a lot like our animal companions, extremely loyal, but misunderstood and sometimes even feared. A major reason our clan has such a bad reputation is the fact that my dad, Yaken Inuzuka, had betrayed our village and was done away with by some Anbu Black-ops. But chill-ax! I was only 2 when he died!" he adds when my expression turns into that of sadness.

"What does your family names mean?" I question, curious.

"Hmm...Inuzuka means 'House Of Dogs', my name means 'fang', my sister Hana's name means 'nose' or 'flower', and my mom Tsume means 'claw' or 'talon'," he explains good-naturedly.

"And your dad?"

Kiba blinks twice. "Oh. His name means 'ownerless dog'. It suits him. Mom told me that out of the whole clan he was the most wild and unpredictable one. That means he was one who never let anybody boss him around. He betrayed Konoha because of that outlook. It was his unevidable down-fall..." he says quietly, repeating the words Tsume Inuzuka had told him a long time ago. "What about yours?"

I blink. "Um...let me think..." It's true...I seem unable to stutter around Kiba. He's like a brother! "Hyuuga means 'toward the sun.' Hinata means 'a sunny place.' Hanabi, my sister, means 'fireworks', my father Hiashi means 'daytime' or 'spreading of a fire'. I also have my cousin Neji and his late father Hizashi. Hizashi means 'sunlight' and Neji means 'Spiral' or 'Hilex'." I smile at him softly.

"What happened to your mom?"

"My mom's name was Hareru, meaning 'a sunny spot'. She died giving birth to Hanabi when I was five. I miss her, but it's eased up..." I tell him. 'Why does it seem as if I can tell him anything?'

"Kiba, ya brat! Where are ya?" A voice cries from a distance. I can barely hear it, it's that quiet.

"Err...Over here, Hana!" Kiba cries back, sitting up.

I look over at him. "How'd you know it was her?" I asked bewildered. I sit up and look at him in the face.

"Ears. I'm like a dog and have good hearing...and scent..." He scrunches his nose up slightly. "She wears this strange perfume that makes my nose run...blah!" He stands up. "Better get going!" He laughs and hurries over to where his sister is now standing.

"Get a move on!"

"Hai! Hai!" (Yes! Yes!)

I smile softly. "Kiba Inuzuka is my only friend, huh? I'm glad...he's nice..."

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Sorry if they're OOC! I really tried! Next chapter will be up soon! Ja Ne! (See you later!)