A Cottage Girl's Wolf

Chapter 1: A Wolf's Encounter

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the Naruto series, animation or manga.

*This is my first Fan Fiction so I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know your opinions on it :)*

The smell of baking cookies wafted out of the small, simple cottage. Kiba could smell it, and it was overwhelmingly delicious to him. He's always had a strong sense of smell. He guesses it's due to the fact that his whole family sort of worships wolfs. There's a legend within their family history to have had ancestors who could actually take on the form of a wolf. These members had extremely strong senses and tended to have an animalistic nature to them. He was never very interested in the religious way of life that his family loved so much, so it's only natural that he assume that the legend was nothing but a myth. His mother often told him that he was special. He assumes that she thinks he has these special abilities.

Suddenly, Kiba finds that he isn't focused on the scent of the cookies anymore, but the view of the beautiful girl baking them. She has long, onyx hair and beautiful pale, lilac eyes. Her skin is pale, but radiant. She's perfect and Kiba finds himself captivated by her. He can tell by her soft features that she has a sweet and gentle soul. She's absolutely gorgeous and he feels he must have her or he'll go crazy. In the midst of his melodramatic thought process, his companion barks softly at him, completely shaking him from his thoughts. Kiba looks down at his dog, Akamaru. He's a pretty big dog. He stands just below mid-waist next to Kiba. Kiba and his family breed their own species of dog, so Kiba has had Akamaru since he was a puppy.

"Come on, Akamaru," Kiba says sadly, "we should go. If that girl finds out I've been watchin' her like this, she'll freak out and think I'm a stalker."

Kiba and Akamaru turn toward the forest and begin walking. This isn't the first time that Kiba has watched the young girl before. He had never intended on continuously observing her like this. He just couldn't find it in him to stop seeing her after the first time he laid eyes on her. She was just too captivating. He had stood on her doorstep mutliple times, contemplating whether or not he should knock on her door and get to know her, but he always chickened out and went back to admiring her from afar. If only he could just find a way to start some kind of base relationship with her so he could finally put his mind at ease. He hasn't ever felt quite this way about a girl before and it both terrifies and excites him. She seems to be the only person that he has ever had a soft spot for, and he doesn't even know her.

Just as Kiba and Akamaru reach the edge of the forest, the girl living in the small cottage walks out and freezes as she sees Kiba and his companion. Kiba turns slowly to face her direction and he can feel her eyes on him as he does so. He looks at her and and she looks back at him with a bit of terror in her eyes, but also a hint of friendliness. She snaps from her trance and blinks. She takes a few moments to gather her thoughts and walks toward him. Kiba jumps at her movement and turns to quickly run into the forest, but he is stopped by a soft and beautiful voice.

"Wait!" The girl says hurriedly. "I just want to talk to you. I'm not going to hurt you, there's no need to be frightened."

Her voice softens as she finishes her statement. Her voice is so beautiful and reassuring that Kiba immediately turns back to face her. He suddenly realizes that this is the first time they've ever spoken to each other. He needs to say something. Quick.

"I'm not 'frightened' by you," He regrets having chosen to say something that makes him come off as defensive, "and I definitely don't think you'll hurt me."

She is slightly taken aback by his defensive comment, but continues on with the conversation. She shifts and fidgets under his hard gaze as she speaks.

"I-I'm-uhm- My n-name i-is H-H-Hinata," she starts as she attempts to gain back a steady voice, "w-what's your name?"

Kiba's gaze softens a bit, and he can't help but think that her actions are cute. He can't quite tell from this far, but he thinks he can spot a hint of a blush across her cheeks.

"My name's Kiba," He states calmly.

"I-It's very nice to m-meet you," Hinata says shyly.

"It's nice to meet you too," Kiba says kindly. He smiles at how well their conversation seems to be going now. Hinata sees his smile and it appears to be contagious because she smiles back at him.

She notices Akamaru and she admires him. Akamaru approaches her and nudges her hand with his nose. She pets him affectionately while he wags his tail happily. Kiba can't contain his smile as she gives Akamaru attention.

"Akamaru doesn't normally like most new people," Kiba laughs, "but it seems like he's taken a likin' to you."

She smiles and feels happy with that fact. After a moment of shared smiles and slight giggles, she hesitantly makes to take a step toward him, but ultimately decides to take a few more steps closer. He notices her hesitation and tries to keep himself calm as she moves closer with each small step she takes. She stops when they're about three steps apart. He looks her in the eyes the entire time and she looks back at him as she takes in his appearance. He has short, brown hair; and though his hair is very messy, she finds that she quite likes it. She notices that he has red, triangular marks under each dark brown eye. She wonders why he has those marks on his face, and she assumes he is part of a tribe.

He looks at her as she observes him, and as she does so he admires her pale skin. As he looks at her skin, he can't help but wonder what it feels like. He wonders if it feels as soft as it looks; and before he can stop himself, he's reaching out to touch her cheek. His hand is only mere inches away from her face when he realizes what he's doing, and he begins to pull away as she realizes what he was about to do. She looks at him, shocked, and he can feel his cheeks begin to redden as he gives her a sheepish and apologetic look.

"Sorry," Kiba says sheepishly, "that was probably kinda weird, wasn't it?"

She only nods as she smiles and stifles a giggle. He notices her amusement at his embarrassment and he smiles back, happy that he could make her smile. Kiba then looks down and notices the wooden picnic basket in her small hands. Hinata catches the movement of his eyes and her eyes follow them. She quickly glances down at the picnic basket and looks back up at him as he starts to word his curiousity.

"What's the picnic basket for?" Kiba asks lightly, "Am I keepin' ya from a date?"

Hinata blushes at his last question and looks away from his eyes. The moment her eyes leave his, Kiba feels his heart sink as he assumes by the action that she does have a date, and it only serves to make him regret all those times he hadn't taken the chance to knock on her door.

"No," Hinata says shyly, "I don't have a date. I'm on my way to see a good friend of mine."

Hinata smiles warmly at the thought of her friend; and Kiba feels relieved, but still slightly anxious about this friend of hers.

"Though I have had strong feelings for him for a long time," Hinata continues, "I know that he doesn't feel the same, and I've accepted this fact. I still want to be friends with him, though. That's why I'm on my way there to bring him these cookies I baked."

Kiba's face falls and he knows he should probably leave so she can go see her friend. She still has feelings for that boy, he can tell, and he knows that his chances with her are very slim. This fact only further saddens him. Hinata notices his sad expression and looks at him worriedly as he speaks.

"Guess maybe I should go then," Kiba says sadly, "I don't wanna be keepin' you from anything. I'm sorry to've bothered you. Have fun seein' your friend."

Kiba turns to walk away, but Hinata grabs his arm and stops him. He looks back at her and see her sad eyes looking right at him. She feels bad for unknowingly having made him feel sad. She hadn't meant to make him feel like he was just an annoyance because he was far from it. If anything, he had made her feel better...happier. She liked him and she wanted to develop a friendship with him. Kiba turns and faces her again, looking to make the sadness in her eyes disappear. Before he can say anything to make her feel better, she's already speaking.

"Do you want to come along?" Hinata asks hopefully, "I'm sure Naruto would love to meet you, and I'd love to have you come along."

Kiba looks at her as she smiles warmly at him and he thinks he might actually have a small chance with her. The thought immediately brightens his mood.

"Are ya sure?" Kiba asks, "You don't need to feel like ya hafta invite me. I wouldn't want you to force yourself into anything."

Hinata smiles reassuringly at him before answering, and he smiles back and feels his heart warm.

"I'm sure," Hinata says happily, "I really want you to come along. Besides, it gets really lonely on the walk there. It'd be nice to have someone to talk to on the way."

Her words reassure him, and he can't help but feel happy that she wants him to go with her.

"Okay," Kiba says, "as long as you aren't doin' this to try and make me feel better er anything."

"I promise," Hinata says, and she smiles at him, "come on. You can meet Naruto and maybe even try some of my cookies."

Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata turn and walk toward the forest. As they enter, Hinata and Kiba begin talking and getting to know each other.