She was beautiful.
So very beautiful, thought Kiba to himself. The Inuzuka was lying on his back on the grass with Akamaru next to him. His thoughts, as usual, were fully concentrated on Hinata. He couldn't bear it. Her smile, her laugh, just the way she looked at him was enough to stir up those long felt feelings of affection. She was so sweet, so shy, so polite. Kiba sighed. She would never be his, he thought glumly to himself. Not as long as she liked Naruto. Kiba sometimes feared that she would never get over Naruto. That she would always be in love with him.
Kiba let out another sigh and sat up. What if he told her? he wondered. What if he told her how much he was in love with her? Maybe he should. Maybe he should do it right now. Kiba got up off the ground. He had to tell her. He simply had to. There was no doubt about it.
"Come on, Akamaru," he said. "Lets go see Hinata."
It was stupid.
She was just being stupid. Stop it, Hinata told herself for the hundredth time. Stop thinking about him. He doesn't like you. Not in that way.
But no matter how many times she told herself that, she just couldn't stop thinking about shook her head sadly. It's no use, she thought to herself. Naruto liked Sakura, not her. But, a small voice in her head added, Sakura doesn't return his love. Maybe one day Naruto would realize that he made a mistake in liking Sakura. Maybe he'd come around to liking her instead.
No! Hinata argued fiercely with the voice in her head. Don't say another word! It wasn't right for her to keep her hopes up. She has been arguing with her head the whole time she had been training and, as a result, she was even more exhausted than usual.
But what if he did-
Alright! Hinata snapped at the voice. That's enough! Ugh! Hinata shook her head exasperated. No matter what she did, she simply couldn't get rid of that nagging voice. Maybe all I need is a rest, she thought. Sitting down under the shade of a tree, she leaned her head back against the trunk and closed her eyes.
Finally some peace, she thought as she drifted off to sleep.
Oh man, what a drag.
Shikamaru was bored. He had finished up his training early, had had lunch and was now mindlessly wandering the streets hoping something interesting would turn up. So far, there had been nothing.
"Hey! Shikamaru, wait up!" a familiar voice called out from behind him. He turned to see Naruto running to catch up with him. What could he want? he wondered, waiting for Naruto to catch up.
"Hey Naruto. Whats going on?"
" I'm searching for Sakura. You seen her around?"
Shikamaru shook his head. "Nope, haven't seen her all day. Why don't you check at Ino's house?"
"Good idea. Thanks, Shikamaru!See ya!" Naruto took off before Shikamaru could utter another word.
What in the world is he in such a hurry for? he thought. What was it that he had to tell Sakura? This seemed interesting. It was none of his business, but then again, he had nothing else to do.
He stood awhile, contemplating, then took off after Naruto.
"This better be good", he said to himself.