MakoHina

"Don't leave me, Ino-chan!" Hinata begged, scrambling to reach for the blonde's arm before she got lost in the sea of people.

"Oh, come on, Hinata!" Ino nudged her away with her hip, giving her a wink. "You hardly ever get chance to see him. It's only once in awhile that Konoha gets to compete with Iwatobi! Go over there and congratulate Tachibana-san!"

"T-that's the point!" Hinata whispered worriedly. Her small fingers tangled with her friends as her eyebrows met at the middle of her forehead. "It's been so long—I'm n-nervous." She bit her lip. "I don't know what to say."

The two had come along with the rest of the Rookie 12 to cheer on the Konoha swim team. Swimming was obviously not one of the villlage's strong points, but the drive and talent in each of the team members allowed them to hold their own against other schools. Naruto dominated the breastroke, Kiba found his skill in the backstroke, Lee, in the butterfly, and Sasuke, of course, only swam freestyle. They were the main competitors, while Neji, being proficient in all styles, was the backup swimmer for all positions. Shikamaru, as the team manager, somehow succeeded in enrolling them in tournaments outside of the Land of Fire.

It was because of Shikamaru's success that provided Konoha's close relationship with Iwatobi, due to chance encounters after Kiba had lost one of his matches. Hinata had raced down the bleachers to congratulate her teammate for taking second place. She knew he would be a little disappointed for not being first, but he knew he would appreciate her words and support. It was almost impossible getting through the mass of muscular, chiseled bodies to reach him.

"K-kiba-kun!" she tried, being increasingly engulfed in the crowd and watching the familiar red tattoo marks get further away. The three winners were standing on their platform still, posing for their pictures and Hinata was desperately trying not to use her chakra to make her way to the front. "Kiba-kun!"

And that was when she felt a strong, wide hand grip her wrist and pull her. She was about to Juuken him in the face when her gaze was met with wet, tousled brown hair, warm, sparkling green eyes, and the sweetest smile she had ever seen. "Are you trying to get through?"

"H-hai," she had barely audible stuttered, frozen in her tracks at this tall, handsome boy with the medal around his neck. He must have won first place, Hinata thought as she allowed herself to be pulled to the winner's platform where this boy let her go.

Kiba had then caught sight of her and grinned widely. "Thanks, Tachibana," he said to the boy who had pulled her through. "Also, good job again and congratulations on first place." Kiba reached out to shake his hand.

"Arigatou," this Tachibana said with a shy laugh. "You did good, too, Inuzuka."

"Hopefully we get to race again, eh?" Kiba replied as Hinata silently watched.

"Aa," Tachibana agreed as he was pulled away from his shorter, blonde teammate. "Ja ne."

That would have been all, if they weren't meant to meet again, just a few minutes later. They had been standing in the bleachers side by side, somehow separated from the rest of their schools. But it was too late to try to push through the crowd, since the freestyle match was starting.

"Ganbatte—" they had cheered simultaneously with all their might.

"Haru!"

"Sasuke!"

They had stopped in mid sentence and turned to each other in surprise.

"Gomen-" Hinata started, her face flushing with embarrassment.

Makoto shook his head and smiled. "You're the one from… Konoha was it?"

"Mm," Hinata nodded, gripping her "Ganbatte, Konoha!" sign tightly. "Y-You're cheering for your teammate f-from Iwatobi?"

"Hai, in lane 7, Haru…" Makoto pointed.

"In lane 6, Sasuke…" Hinata lifted her chin towards the pool.

"He's my childhood friend," they blurted at the same time again.

Makoto and Hinata laughed nervously.

"Um—I'm Tachibana Makoto," he said shyly. "It's nice to meet you."

"Hyuuga Hinata," she replied, equally shyly. "It's nice to meet you, too, Tachibana-san."

Haru and Sasuke interestingly were intrigued by each other's skills when they came in tied for first place after the match. They had been staring blankly at each other when their childhood friends approached them with hugs and congratulations. Makoto and Hinata had then introduced the two and then they were surrounded by members of their school. It wasn't too long before both schools found that they had a lot in common. Naruto and Nagisa argued about which foods were better fuel for races—ramen or sweets—but wasted no time in devouring both and competing to see who could do so the most and the fastest. Their personalities were eerily similar and Nagisa almost had Naruto calling Sasuke "Sasu-chan" before Sasuke warned the whiskered boy that he would rip off his tongue before he even tried. Lee and Rei went on loudly about aesthetics and beauty and youth and became instant friends when they found that they agreed on almost everything considering the three topics above. And while the managers of both teams found no interest in each other, Gou was drawn to Shikamaru's blonde-haired female teammate and the rest of the girls from Konoha, gushing about how rare it was to find girls who were interested in swimming at all. But who was Haru without Rin? And likewise, what was Iwatobi without Samezuka? So it was that Konoha became acquainted with Samezuka, and, of course, Gou wasted no time in introducing her beloved onii-chan and his team, unknowingly forming triangular rivalries between the swim teams in the process. Though they saw each other rarely, the three schools had already formed strong bonds and it wasn't long before it was known that their beloved Makoto and Hinata had felt drawn to each other. It was no surprise, really, considering that they were basically the same person in two different bodies. They were sweet, shy, loved all and were loved by all. It was only a matter of time before they found each other.

"Go on, Hinata." Ino nodded in the direction where their boys were gathered after the match. "It'll be fine. We'll all meet up at dinner later anyway. Plus, Gou promised to introduce me personally to that Sousuke from Samezuka!" She gave Hinata on last thumbs up before giggling and running off to lace her arm through their red-haired friend from Iwatobi.

Soft, green eyes met white from across the auditorium as she walked shyly towards the small circle where the Iwatobi, Konoha, and Samezuka teams stood chattering. "Hyuuga-sa—a-ano—Hinata-san! You came." Makoto grinned happily. His eyes were twinkled, and although his voice was soft, there was no mistaking his eagerness to see the indigo-haired beauty in front of him.

Hinata blushed and cast her gaze to the floor, trying not to stare at his perfect muscles. "Good work today, Makoto-kun." She clutched the edge of her sleeve.

Makoto towered over the small girl, and from far away, it looked like he was some kind of shelter. She barely came to his chiseled chest.

"I'm happy to see you again," he said in a husky whisper. Hinata would have missed it if he hadn't been standing so close. She looked up at him in surprise. Makoto's messy hair hid the front of his eyes and he was averting his gaze, but she could see red tinging at his cheeks.

Hinata reached out to touch his arm, and then it was his turn to look at her in surprise. "I-I'm happy to see you, too," she smiled softly.

"Makoto."

They jumped apart quickly and turned their heads to where their champion swimmers were standing and observing them. Haru and Sasuke looked like they could have passed for brothers, with their dark locks and brooding, dark eyes.

"Haru?"

"We'll meet you later," Haru said simply.

Sasuke poked Hinata in the forehead. "Don't be late." Then he turned to Makoto, "And you. Don't do anything suspicious," he warned.

"I wouldn't d-do anything like that, Sasuke-san!" Makoto stammered. He covered his face with one hand and allowed the towel on his head to hide the rest of his embarrassed expression.

Sasuke strode past the two where Rin was waiting and motioned for Haru to follow him. "Haruka," he called. "Ikuzo."

Haru met Hinata's eyes and gave her a small nod. "Take care of him." He turned slowly and quickened his pace just a bit to catch up to Rin and Sasuke.

The gentle giant and the small heiress blushed a deep red. Hinata glanced up shyly at Makoto from underneath her lashes, but when she saw that he was smiling tenderly at her she raised her head to him more confidently.

"H-hai!" Hinata promised. "Ja ne, Haru-kun, Sasuke."

They were left in silence watching the three figures get smaller and smaller in the distance, with the gym was emptying slowly, until they had no choice but to become hyperaware of each other's presence. They shifted uncomfortably for a few moments.

"W-well," Makoto started, ruffling his hair nervously with one hand.

"A-ano…"

"Do you like sweets?" they stammered at the same time once more.

They looked at each other with their similar wide eyes and pink cheeks and held each other's stares for a few more seconds before laughing and releasing the tension that had filled the air and constricted their lungs.

Makoto reached out his hand and smiled his perfect smile again, causing Hinata's breath to catch in her throat. "Let's go, Hina-chan."