A/N: My first time writing in this fandom and my first attempt at a multi-chapter fic. ;A; I was actually going for Hinata and Naruto having opposite personalities, but that kind of fell apart as the story progressed, mostly on Naruto's part. Umm, hopefully at least someone will find reading this as enjoyable as I find writing this! Reviews are appreciated~
I do not own Naruto in any way.
The morning was like any other summer morning – a soft wind was blowing, the sun was shining and the streets of Konoha were full of people. Among those people were a couple dozen nervous children of age 7, excited to start their school career in the ninja academy. Some, such as Uzumaki Naruto, radiated the nervousness so obviously that anyone that saw him was aware of it; meanwhile Hyuga Hinata showed nothing but excitement.
The front of the academy was full of the children when the clock hit 8.30 and Umino Iruka stepped out of the main doors, eyeing his future students with a gentle smile. A few of the children were standing alone awkwardly, but he rested assured that within a few days they would find friends; that's how it always was.
"All new students, come here!" Iruka shouted, gaining everyone's attention, and showed the way with his hands. "The classroom is right around the corner, go find a seat for yourself."
It took ten minutes for the classroom to be fully assembled, and Iruka was glad to see that no one was avoiding someone by sitting farther away from them than necessary. Everyone had someone sitting next to them and there wasn't anyone that looked too uncomfortable in the setting.
"Good morning, new ninja candidates," Iruka said brightly before turning to the blackboard behind him, writing up his name. "My name is Umino Iruka and I will be educating you for the time being. I look forward to seeing your progress throughout the years and aspire to make you the best ninjas you can be, although the further education will be assigned to jounins."
The class was quiet, but Iruka could see from the children's faces that they sucked in any information that he had just said. "Now, if you're sitting next to someone you don't know that well yet, please exchange a few words with them. It'll break the ice and hopefully make you feel safe and comfortable in the classroom."
Hyuga Hinata, the midnight blue-haired heiress of the Hyuga clan, turned to her left and stuck her hand in front of Inuzuka Kiba. "I'm Hinata of the Hyuga clan, nice to meet you!"
Kiba smiled at the girl with his small fangs poking through his lips, shaking the girl's hand. "I'm Kiba of the Inuzuka clan, nice to meet you too."
Kiba was quick to question the girl's identity – all he had heard of Hyugas was that they were calm and collected at all times. What he had in front of his eyes, however, was far from that. The girl seemed very curious and active, and in record time she had also acquainted herself with Kiba's puppy, Akamaru. Calm? No. Collected? Far from it. He quite liked her from the first meeting, though, and was quick to discover that they had quite a few things in common – they both enjoyed sleeping in, taking long walks and playing hide-and-seek.
Kiba then turned to his right, shaking hands with a quiet blonde after introducing himself.
"I'm Uzumaki Na-Naru—" the blond was cut off as Hinata offered him her hand over Kiba, grinning.
"I'm Hyuga Hinata, nice to meet you Naruto-kun," she finished, giggling at the soft blush on the blond's cheeks. He shook her hand, surprised that she knew his name before he could even finish it. He had never seen a girl so pale, and he was shocked to notice that she was even paler than his mother – and she was pale! He couldn't help but wonder if the girl exceeded his mother in the fear factor as well.
During the first couple of weeks of school Kiba had founded a close friendship with not only Hinata, but also Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji and Uzumaki Naruto. They occasionally hung out with Aburame Shino as well, but more often than not the quiet boy didn't feel natural to fool around with them, so he didn't. Naruto was the quietest of the group, especially around Hinata, meanwhile it often felt like the only girl of the group had the most guts of the five. She was always the first one to pull jokes on Iruka, run out of the class or tell her frank opinion whether or not it had been asked for.
Upon telling his mother about his friends and how much fun they had had when Hinata had managed to get Iruka sit on a pin, Kiba curiously watched his mother tense up.
"Hinata? As in Hyuga Hinata?" Tsume asked with a cup of coffee on her lips, petting Kuromaru and staring at her son. Kiba nodded and gained a sigh from her. "I don't think you should hang around her too much. It's rare to say this about a Hyuga, but she's not and probably never will be good influence to you."
Kiba furrowed his brows, as confused as a 7-year-old could be upon being forbidden to see his best friend, and stopped petting Akamaru. "What's wrong with her? I think she's cool. She's a lot like me, and—"
"That exactly is the problem. You don't need someone like you, you need someone like—like Shino, you know him, right? Instead of your wild nature being strengthened you need someone to balance it out."
Tsume's nearly emotionless words left her son astonished and she was barely even surprised when he stormed out of the house. Kuromaru sat quietly as he stared at his partner, and Tsume sighed. "I'm just doing what a mother has to do, right?"
The young Inuzuka explored the dimmed streets of Konoha, eyeing the adults going around hand in hand and in small groups. Akamaru sat comfortably against his chest inside his jacket and started to smell the air, letting out a quiet bark as he smelt something familiar. If he was correct, the owner of the smell would give him both attention and something good to ear, and therefore he began guiding Kiba to the source.
It didn't take long for Kiba to see Hinata looking at a family restaurant alone, hands crossed behind her back. She was startled when Akamaru jumped in her arms, but her face lit up immediately anyway. "How come you're out so late, Kiba-kun?"
Kiba remembered his mother's words but pushed them out of his mind. Hinata was his friend and his mother had no say in it. "Just needed some fresh air, and I guess it's good for Akamaru to get to a walk, too. You? Aren't you supposed to be, like, in your princess bed by now?"
Hinata's oddly sad-looking face was quick to wash off Kiba's grin as concern washed over him. Hinata, who was usually the most cheerful of his friends, was feeling down? Rare, and most definitely worrying. She sighed and hugged Akamaru, smiling gently.
"My family's eating in there, and I wasn't even invited," she said quietly, and when Kiba looked at the same direction with her, he could see a handful of brunettes with the same kind of pale eyes as Hinata. "I heard them leave and got curious, and this was what I found."
Akamaru whined and licked Hinata's fingers, gaining soft pets from the girl. Kiba frowned and took Hinata into a bear hug. As she returned the hug with one arm, Kiba was even more determined to not let his mother separate them. He had been taught to protect his loved ones, and if his mother wanted to force him away from Hinata, she would be going against her own words. She was a precious friend of his – he was to protect her.
"Ah, nope, I can't do this, this is too mushy for me," Hinata shrieked quietly with forced amusement. She had a shell around her and as much as she wanted to, she was scared to let it down. A couple of weeks of close friendship didn't quite mean that she could trust Kiba with all she had. A lot of secrets were hidden behind her shell and for the time being she thought it was okay. "Thank you for your concern though, Kiba-kun. It's appreciated, really."
Hinata smiled softly, her pale lavender eyes disappearing in the process. Kiba smiled back at her, patting her shoulder.
"Whatever it is that's bothering you, it'll get better."
It wasn't like a 7-year-old could quite understand in such depth what Hinata was going through. Her family had just had dinner without her, no? Of course she'd feel lonely.
Slowly, the couple heard a voice approaching them. A lot of the content was lost, but both of them could make out as much as "Kiba!"
"Isn't that your sister?" Hinata asked, pointing at the young female approaching them. Kiba's eyes widened as he jumped, slightly scared.
"N-nee-chan!" he shrieked and was held by his ear in record time. Hinata had to stifle her laughter as he watched Hana drag Kiba away with Akamaru walking right after them. Hana waved Hinata a quick good-bye with her brother, and the young Hyuga turned around on her heels, humming a quiet melody as she skipped her way to her empty home.
Right before she closed her eyes and entered a sweet slumber on her soft bed, she sent a mental thank you to Kiba. Around the same time the young boy closed his eyes with his lips curved into a small smile.