This is a complete reboot of a previous piece of art (lolno) written back in 2010, when I was in my first year of high school. As a graduate with the same enjoyment of the KibaHina fandom, and for writing, I thought I had to come back and re-create something old into something beautiful. The setting takes place a year after the ninja war, so if you aren't caught up to date with the Manga, beware of a massive spoiler that's part of this chapter.

Chapter 1: Tears of the Sacrificial Canine and the Unknown Princess

It has been exactly a year since the Fourth Great Ninja War came to an end, and life seemed to finally begin to come to an ease. Konohagakure, along with the other four Great Ninja Countries, had been left in shambles following the Juubi's resurrection and Madara's chaos at the end of the war. Reconstruction was extensive and priority for everyone, and even the period of mourning had not gone underway yet because the lives of everyone revolved around the restoration of the countries. Dead into the winter season, reconstruction has finally seized, and the time for memorial and tribute was now. The snowfall was light tonight.

Bowing his head in silence as an enormous list of names was read, Kiba stood among his teammates, listening and honouring each and every name. Only a few of the Konoha 11 were in a specific location for this ceremony, each for some similar reasons, some for different. Sasuke's name was cleared following the war, and he successfully left from the village after deciding he would become the Kage of Otogakure and reform it from an enormous laboratory, to an actual village.

Shikamaru, Ino, and Hinata however, were with their clans as a result of the deaths of Shikaku, Inoichi, and Neji. A large monument was unveiled during the ceremony that had all three of the deceased on the statue, seemingly showing them defending what seemed to be every other Konoha ninja that died during the war.

"With our closing statements for these noble Konoha shinobi, we will eternally honour them by placing this in front of the Konoha entrance gate for all to see." Spoke Tsunade. Snow delicately floated down her blonde hair, colliding with unforeseen tears down her face. "We know you will all be watching us through the Will of Fire, and I know the Will of Fire will be embedded within each and every one of you." Tsunade spoke, as a cold breeze whisked through the air of the village with the snow coming to a halt. Sheer silence, not a single sound or motion, was heard in that moment.

Kiba had paid a particular amount of attention to his crying teammate, Hinata, who was with the rest of the Hyuga clan. His own emotions hadn't been sorted out properly, but he knew he felt total sadness to see Hinata in such distress. All he could keep hearing from Hinata was simply: "If only…I w-was just a little…b-bit stronger.." Hinata stuttered, tears rolling down her face as she barely kept herself composed.

Those words had been engraved in Kurenai, Shino, and Kiba's head. Each of them tried to reassure Hinata that Neji gave a noble sacrifice to save her and Naruto, but deep down inside, everyone knew she hadn't let go of his death, and today was really showing it.

Upon the conclusion of the event, everyone had departed to home immediately after such an emotionally tiring day. "Alright Akamaru, we're not going just yet. Head up to those high hills!"

With a gleeful bark, Akamaru carried Kiba and dashed towards the hill, immediately stopping and sitting as Kiba got off. They both waited, but to Akamaru, what they waited for was unknown. Kiba had been staring down below, gleaming at the memorial statue that was placed as he thought to himself. The snowfall began to accumulate on the statue, accelerating as the temperature dropped.

"Shit Akamaru, it's getting damn cold on here."

"Woof!" Much agreed Kiba-San.

Emotions had been everywhere for everyone recently in the village. Now that everyone could settle and think for once, love and bliss has erupted for many. It had become evident that Gaara was aware of Shikamaru's and Temari's unannounced relationship, but in total surprise, Gaara allowed Shikamaru to travel with him back to Sungakure to recover from his father's loss and know another better. It was rumoured Choji may try to court Ino, and Sakura's emotions were a conflicted mess.

Sakura could not decide whether to be with Naruto or Sasuke. Go with Naruto, whom she knew would be the best for her, or Sasuke, her unattainable desire? The sheer thought made Kiba growl, alerting Akamaru who caught on. Poor Hinata was in the middle of the triangle; all the wanted was Naruto to acknowledge her feelings. Kiba had to sacrifice his own love in return of having Hinata happy, and the sheer thought of the ridiculous situation infuriated both Akamaru and Kiba.

Akamaru yelped, as he spotted Hinata headed towards the statue. In a feint whisper that the canine duo could barely hear, she spoke: "Neji nee-san…today is the day I try…I told myself I would stop chasing Naruto once the war ends, and I'm ready to tell him once and for all…" she muttered.

Kiba immediately rushed down, alerting Hinata until she recognized her team mate. "Kiba-kun! Why are you here?" she asked.

Not thinking of how this would work out, he improvised and parroted to her: "Well, I remember the entire Naruto thing. Ya know, he's probably headed towards Ichiraku right now. When are you going to do it?" Kiba asked. Unbeknownst to Hinata, a small tear had formed on the corner of his eye lid for the briefest moment, interrupted by a random snowflake that caused Kiba to panic.

"Oh god no, not there please no it's too cold no!" Kiba screamed, wailing in every direction.

"I'm surprised you remembered, Kiba-kun."

With a feint blush, she stammered: "I w-wanted to right no-"she was immediately cut off as Kiba grabbed Hinata and threw her onto Akamaru. Kiba hopped on as well, directing Akamaru towards the shop in which he obliged. Hinata was incredibly confused, but accepted the situation for what it is: Kiba and Akamaru were escorting her to Naruto. The star was shining with the snow tonight, painted with all kinds of mystical colors with the snow blending in; the season of winter was just underway.

"Thank you Kiba-kun!" she exclaimed, hugging him quickly before Akamaru and Kiba ran in silence. Before Hinata could question, the Hyuga heir spotted the Uzumaki, blushing feverishly until she remembered what she promised to Neji. With all her might, she walked up to Naruto, who seemed happy to see her.

"Hey Hinata! Wanna eat some Ramen?" asked the village hero.

"…..y-y-yes I-I do!" her stammering erupted into a shout, alerting everyone near as Naruto chuckled. Hinata practically wanted to run into a ditch and cry, but she swallowed her embarrassment as she went inside the shop.

While Hinata was in her gleeful bliss among the rest of the village, Kiba and Akamaru lied on their beds, preparing for their sleep. As Akamaru dozed, Kiba opened his window slightly while muttering: "I'll be back buddy…sleep tight."

Kiba immediately leaped out of his window and into the twilight of the village lights. Sprinting through the snow, Kiba once again ran to the very same hills he had been in earlier, avoiding any kind of attention as he frustration bottled up further. Once at its peak, Kiba pounded into the ground, headbutting it as blood slightly trickled out of his mouth and he continued to scream in frustration. The snow had now been tinted with a slight red as a rest of Kiba's recklessness, in a complete response to his frustration with assisting Hinata.

"When are you going to put yourself ahead for once?"

Those beautiful, lilac eyes.

"Why will you confess to Hinata?"

That heart-warmingly delicate smile.

"Why are you emotionally torturing yourself like this?"

The most tender and soft personality known to man, only wanting to be loved.

"Why, Kiba?

Kiba froze in complete shock. It was a woman's voice, but he was far too in the heat of the moment to recognize. Peering further while holding his caution, a shadow emerged from nearby trees, only to reveal the visitor to actually be the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.

"L-Lady Hokage, what the hell are you here for?!" he screeched in embarrassment. Had the village head, the damn leader of this village, just witness that display of ultimate pussery?

"Because I was on my home after…winning a few games." Tsunade stated, before Kiba could realize it was simply a losing game of gambling. "I can't have people figuring out that I sneak out every now and then for some fun—Anyhow, forgetting all of that! You seem to have all this emotion for Hinata, how long have you had it for and why won't you just man up with it?

"Years. I kept lying to myself and stating it was nothing more than concern, because I didn't want to interfere between Naruto and her. Days turned into years. Next thing you know, her happiness is the most precious thing I have. You feeling me Tsunade?"

"You're quite comfortable to be calling me that. I won't take exception though, so don't be intimidated. Here, let's take a walk, and let me teach you how a shy girl works. Once upon a time, I used to be the shyest Genin there was until I discovered sake and gambling. Let's talk." Tsunade commanded, grabbing the absolutely confused Kiba by the shoulder as they strolled into the forest of trees nearby.

Chapter 1: End

Expect All Chapters To Be Around This Length All! I do enjoy writing, and seriously tend to get lost in it. I truly hope you all can enjoy this, I'll be adding hopefully another chapter tomorrow!