Chapter 2: Obscured By Clouds

Sakura walked into the Yamanaka flower shop. She paused after entering the door to take a whiff of the old place. The walls seemed stained with the scent of flowers after all the years. Sakura always loved that about the store. Her enjoyment was interrupted by Ino yelling, "what is it that you want billboard brow!"

"I'm here for my order," Sakura said miffed at her ex-friend's churlish behavior.

"Right, right. So, what are they for?" Ino asked as she grabbed the ordered bouquet.

"Sasuke of course. We've gotten really close after all this time together," that was half true. Sasuke had learned to tolerate Sakura, most of the time. Sakura sighed happily, "If only Naruto would go away. Then it would all be so perfect."

"Say, how is Naruto?" Ino asked. Sakura looked at her as if she'd just asked if she should buy a pet elephant and start a circus; Ino sounded genuinely concerned.

Sakura narrowed her eyes, "why?"

"It's just... I don't know, doesn't he seem kind of... off lately?"

"No, he seems like his normal annoying self, and since when do you talk to Naruto?"

"He's a regular customer."

"Really?" Sakura wondered how it is that she had never known this.

"He has the arrangement skills of a monkey. He just takes whatever and throws it all in a pot. No thought to design or even order, but I have to admit he has a green thumb. I even offered him a job a while back if he would let me teach him about floral arrangement. Wasn't interested, and well... I probably shouldn't tell you this but... he buys flowers for his parents every Saturday morning."

"But Naruto is an... orphan," It took Sakura second to understand the full meaning of Ino's statement.

"Yeah. He's usually his normal irritatingly perky self or sometimes he's a bit gloomy but the last few times he's been... off it's hard to explain, but he hasn't been the Naruto I've known."

"I haven't noticed anything." Seeing Ino's face Sakura said, "don't worry too much if something really bad was going on with Naruto I'd know."

0o0o0o0

"Naruto," The deep voice said.

"Who are you!" Naruto yelled. The voice had been tormenting Naruto for months now. It would only come when he was alone, randomly, some weeks it was silent others weeks he'd hear it every night.

"Listen to me!" it said.

"Leave me alone!" Naruto replied, and threw a kunai knife hoping the abrupt action would shut it up. It did for that night.

The kunai knife hit a framed picture on the wall. It was the one of he and Hinata at a festival. The two had a wonderful time, but Naruto remembered how odd it was that they couldn't find any of the others. Little did he know that his friend conspired so the two would be alone. The kunai landed right in between him and Hinata and spider-webbed the glass. Naruto stared at the picture for some time before turning to the one of his parents; the soon to be happy family.

0o0o0o0

It was a bright, sunny, and albeit hot day. Team 8, all natives of The Land of Fire, were used to the heat. One thing many of them weren't used to was the boredom of walking for hours on a dirt road especially Kiba. Yes, leaving the village to go on his first C-rank mission was exciting for the young boy for the first hour, but he quickly tired of the monotony and all the samey trees and dirt roads. The mission itself was just as uninteresting when Kiba thought about it; Naruto and Sasuke got to fight one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, while all they were doing was trekking miles across the country to confirm a supply order from a trading village.

"Bored!" Kiba yelled again. Voicing his feelings gave Kiba something to do and alleviated the boredom a tiny bit.

"We know!" Kurenai said again.

"How about we play a traveling game," Hinata suggested.

"Like what?"

"How about I Spy?"

"No way you always cheat."

Hinata looked slightly hurt, "Kiba how could you say such a thing?"

"Quit acting so innocent we both know you do... Quit looking at me like that... Fine, I'll play just stop with the puppy dog eyes. You know I hate when you do that."

"Great I'll start. I spy with my little eye something... red."

"Kurenai-sensei's eyes!"

"Darn, I thought that would be harder to guess."

"Alright my turn, I spy something that is… black." Hinata looked around for a little. When her head was at an angle that hid her face from Kiba she activated her Byakugan.

"Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata exclaimed whipping her head to the older woman.

"Ha! I finally caught you cheatin'!"

"There is someone on the ground off the road! She looks hurt!" The team moved quickly to help the injured traveler.

Upon arrival, they found a blond girl sprawled on the ground, sweating and gasping for breath. "She's a cloud shinobi," Shino noted.

"What happened!?" Kiba asked?

"She's been bitten by an Aristate Snake." Hinata said, recognizing the symptoms and seeing the bite mark on her leg. "Kiba, Shino, quick, find some blue flowers and get me their roots. I should have everything else I need in my bag to make an antidote." Kurenai stayed back, she wanted to see how her team would handle the situation. If she had to she would intervene, but they seemed to be handling things quite well, that is except for Shino, who didn't leave to find a flower like he was ordered, rather he stayed back as well.

0o0o0o0

Naruto thought maybe hitting a training dummy for a few hours would help clear his mind; help him relax. When he got to his usual training ground he found it occupied by someone he never saw before. It was a girl around his age with olive skin and green hair. She seemed too focused on striking the log to notice him.

Naruto found himself in an odd position. This was unofficially Naruto's training field. Since most people didn't like being around the boy very much everyone came to an unspoken agreement that Naruto got to train here without being bothered so long as he didn't bother anyone else's training. It was an agreement that worked out well for all, but now that agreement was broken.

Naruto was used to the occasional Jonin coming along, as there were quite a few of them who paid no mind to him, and of course, his friends would use the field often. This time, however, there was a girl his age using his field. This has never happened before and Naruto wasn't sure what to do. He stood there for several moments debating whether to approach the girl, leave, or just ignore her.

"Are you just going to stand there looking like an idiot?" The girl said not missing a beat in her strikes.

"Oh uh, sorry," Naruto said caught off guard, "it's just I haven't seen you around here before."

"Well," she said stopping her rhythmic blows and walking over to Naruto, "that's because I'm not from around here. Names Fū. I'm from the Village Hidden in the Waterfall." she extended her hand to shake. Naruto took it and after a moment of shaking she said, as if talking to a toddler, "when someone tells you their name what are you supposed to tell them in return?"

"Oh uh, right, my name is Naruto Uzumaki." He wasn't used to friendly strangers, especially when the stranger was a pretty girl.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Naruto," She said releasing her grip, "here to train?" She had an air of easy going confidence around her like she could have the world but just didn't feel like taking it.

"Uh yeah, but if you don't want me to bother you then I could go."

"Nah, it's cool, plenty of room for both of us… say how about we spar."

"What?"

"Yeah come on me and you; Leaf against Waterfall," She said jumping up and down excitedly. Naruto couldn't help but be caught up with this odd girl's excitement.

"Alright," he said, "bring it on!"

"Okay, round 1 taijutsu only."

0o0o0o0

After the girl was stable the Team 8 made their way to the nearest town, taking shifts carrying the unconscious girl, and rented a few rooms in the nearest inn on Kurenai's dime. After everyone was settled and comfortable she decided to talk to Shino in private. She gave Kiba and Hinata some money and told them to return with food.

"Shino," Kurenai said very formally and calmly, "I would like to discuss something with you."

"And what would that be?"

"During this evening's incident, you didn't follow Hinata's orders to find herbs."

"I was unaware Hinata was my superior."

Kurenai's formality wavered a bit, "It has nothing to do with ranking Shino" Kurenai paused a moment, debating with herself on what to say next. She deiced the best course of action was to be direct, "why didn't you want to help that dying girl we both know you could have easily removed the venom with your insects."

"I thought it would be better for us if we left her alone."

Kurenai wasn't sure what to make of that, "What do you mean?"

"She is a ninja from another village, a village that we are not on friendly terms with. It's very likely she came to spy on us, and we have nothing to gain by helping her."

"Shino, she would have died."

"That is not our problem."

"Shino, you're saying you would just walk away from a girl as she slowly and painfully died on the side of the road, when you could save her with a flick of your wrist?"

"Yes," Shino said as calmly as ever.

0o0o0o0

Yugito Nii, didn't want to wake up. The bed was so soft and the sheet felt so smooth against her cheek. The back of her eyes were filled with the pleasure of rest, and her mind was given free rein to drift through random thoughts. She was sure she could spare a few minutes maybe an hour. Whatever it was she was doing before could wait, she thought. That was until she heard a loud yawn.

Suddenly she was wide awake. She wasn't alone. Reaching down Yugito tried to grab a knife but found her weapons were gone. That didn't bother her; she didn't need them. She let her nails grow a little before she jumped into action. Quickly popping out of bed she saw the boy that was guarding her. His brain was still registering her sudden action. Closing the distance between them she pinned him against the wall. She had one hand over his mouth and the other was raised so her nails, now much longer and sharper than they were naturally, was pressed against his throat.

"Listen carefully," she whispered, "I'm going to ask you a few questions. You are going to answer those questions. Quietly! If you scream or call for help I will- AHHH!" She screamed as her leg suddenly burst with pain. She looked down to see that she had been bitten by a small puppy. Before this fully registered in her mind, she felt flesh ripped from her cheek as she came crashing to the ground.

"Oh shoot! You scared me. I didn't mean to..." Yugito only vaguely registered the boy's apology. She pushed herself up slightly with her arm. She saw her blood plopping on the ground, but had to worry about that later. She tried to get back to her feet but was stopped by the wind being literally kicked out of her. The force of the kick was strong enough to land her on her back.

She felt cold, sharp, metal on her throat. The person kneeling over her wasn't the boy that was guarding her but a girl. "If you move," she said, "I'll slit your throat." Her voice cracked, and she was holding the knife with two hands to prevent it from shaking even more than it already was, but Yugito believed her. It was something in her eyes. They were wide and wild. They told Yugito that she was scared and wasn't thinking straight, which would in itself make her dangerous and unpredictable, but there was something else there too: anger; a deep seeded hatred which gave birth to murderous intent.

"Okay," Yugito said calmly but her mouth was dry. She knew one wrong move would mean her life.

"Hinata?" the boy said sounding as if it was his throat the girl was threatening to slice. Her eyes softened as she stood up removing the blade from Yugito.

When Hinata was on both feet she gave a formal bow and said, "Please, forgive me that was very inappropriate of me. I... I didn't mean to... I mean... I should have had better control over myself. We are here to help you not harm. I am truly sorry for my actions."

"Uhh... it's cool," Yugito said slowly getting back to her feet.

"So, we're done with the cutting each other apart part, right?" Kiba asked looking at both girls. When they nodded he continued, "Good. Now let's start again. My name is Kiba Inuzuka and this is Hinata Hyuga. What's your name?"

"My name is Yugito Nii. I am a Special Jonin of the Village Hidden in the Clouds and that's all the information I am permitted to tell when captured," she had a thick throaty accent which contrasted the lighter sing-song accent of the Leaf.

"Captured!?" Kiba said, "is that what you think is going on? We saved your life!"

"saved me!? I'm bleeding out right now because of you and your mut!"

"You were going to stab me in the neck!"

"What's!... what happened?" Kurenai said barging in and pausing when she saw the seen.

"She woke up and tried to kill me!" Kiba whined pointing an accusatory finger at Yugito.

"He ripped up my face and then that psycho was a split second away from killing me!" Yugito whined as well pointing her own finger.

"At least I said sorry."

"Okay! okay!" Kurenai said putting her hands up. "Hinata fix up our friend here and Kiba you come with me and tell me what happened."

"Wait, there is no way I'm letting you leave me alone with her."

"What do you mean?" Kurenai asked raising an eyebrow.

"She almost killed me!"

"And you almost killed me!" Kiba yelled.

"Oh please, I wasn't actually going to do anything."

"and that makes it okay to-"

"Enough!" Kurenai yelled getting tired of their squabbling. "Listen whatever happened was purely a misunderstanding. Hinata fought tooth and nail to save you from that snake bite. You're safe in her care. I will return after you have been patched up, and then we'll talk about what happened."

0o0o0o0

"Break!" Fū called before flopping to the ground. It pained her to be the one to call for a time out first but Naruto seemed to have an unlimited supply of energy. It seemed she could keep up with or surpass him in everything except stamina, and she decided it would be embarrassing for them both if he won by her passing out from the exhaustion of hitting him too much. She giggled that the thought.

Fū took out a canteen and poured the water over her head before taking a drink. She noticed, not for the first time, how hot the weather was in the Land of Fire.

"So…" Naruto panted out of breath, "I never asked… what brings you to the Leaf village." He was on the ground too now. Sudden exhaustion washed over him after he was told he could take it easy for a second.

Fū tossed him the canteen and he took a swig while she answered. "I'm on a 'goodwill mission.' One of your village's jonin is training me for the next few months, getting me ready for the Chunin Exams."

"Good," Naruto said smiling, "means I can spend the next few months kicking your butt, ya know."

Fū gave a cocky smile, "the only thing I see you beating me at is a battle of attrition." Naruto made a face implying he didn't know what she meant. Fū shook her head, "never mind. I'm hungry. What's a good place to eat around here?" she said getting up.

"You like ramen?"

0o0o0o0

Yugito was in a lot of pain. The sting of the needle was worse and worse every time it went through her cheek. She could tell that her medic wasn't trying to make it any less painful.

The silence was almost as bad. Normally Yugito enjoyed a quiet moment to herself but under the emotionless, pupil-less, eyes of this girl, the silence was unsettling. When she finally finished, Yugito said, "Thank you for helping me again."

"Don't talk too much. You might break the stitches," Hinata said dismissively.

"Right, I wouldn't want to make you fix me up a third time," Yugito said trying to be friendly.

"If you don't have any more injuries I'll take my leave," Hinata said and went for the door.

"Wait," Yugito said, "I just wanted to apologize for attacking your friend before. I assumed you all were hostile. It was an inappropriate and a terrible way to repay unwarranted kindness."

"Remember what I said about your stitches braking," was all Hinata said before leaving.

0o0o0o0

"I'm home!" Kakashi called into his house as he kicked off his shoes.

"You're home early," came back a feminine voice, "did you let the kids off easy today?"

"No, they had the day off," Kakashi said following the voice into the kitchen, "I was just giving Sasuke extra lessons. He's even more nonstop ever since he unlocked his Sharingan." he found his wife warming up leftover stew from the other day. With a heavy sigh, he slumped into a chair. "These kids never rest. I'm not going to have any time to myself until the Chunin Exams."

"Are you going to let them participate?" she asked stirring the pot.

"Yeah, I am. They're growing quickly, and I think they have a good shot at it. Can you warm me up some of that too?" This last statement was in reference to the leftovers.

"Sure."

"Thanks. Actually, for the Chunin Exams, I was thinking of having Sakura and Naruto train with other jonin to who can give them more specialized lessons."

"Is that so?" Kakashi's wife said pouring two bowls.

"Yes, I think it will work out very well," he said as she placed a bowl in front of him and took a seat facing him. She didn't meet his eyes however instead looking at her reflection in the stew. A long pause passed between them before he asked, "Well, are you going to do it?"

Kakashi's wife took a deep breath before asking, "You want me to train Minato and Kushina-sensei's son, right? The one with The Fox?"

"If anyone should it should be you. Frankly, I'm surprised I'm the one asking."

"I-I don't know."

Kakashi gently placed his hand over her's, "Please, you might be the only person in this village who can teach him the things he needs to learn."

She took a deep breath and said, "I'll think about it."

0o0o0o0

Kurenai's interrogation of Yugito didn't take long. She told the same story as Kiba did, and Kurenai accepted that Yugito mission was classified. Even though the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning weren't on friendly terms, there was really nothing wrong with their respective shinobi being in each other's countries unannounced, so long as they didn't go in the hidden villages without permission. Though they both knew that Yugito would now be shadowed by an ANBU member. They then had to wait in town for the papers to go through, which everyone involved knew was a euphemism for Yugito's new shadow, though no one said it out loud.

Eventually, Yugito had found herself being babysat by Kiba, "I would just like to apologize for trying to kill you," Yugito said, realizing how odd it sounded after it left her lips.

"Ha! like I could be killed by some cat lady."

"What did you say!?"

"Catlady, as in you reek of cats you must own something like fifty of them," Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Look I'm trying to apologize."

"I know and I accept it, and I'm sorry for slashing your face. It's just there is no way you could kill me."

"And I accept yours, but, yes, I could kill you, quite easily. Remember I'm a Special Jonin and you're still a genin."

"Rank don't mean squat."

"If it wasn't for your mutt here, I could have left holes in your neck."

"My partner here did a pretty good job of incapacitating you," Kiba said while patting the pup on the head.

"Only because your psycho girlfriend showed up."

"She's… not normally like that."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I've never seen her so… bloodthirsty. It was… well, it was weird. Usually she so shy and quiet."

"...Maybe that's why she didn't want to talk much?"

"Huh?"

"When I was alone with your girlfriend she was very dismissive. Maybe she was just being shy?"

"Yeah, probably… she's not my girlfriend by the way."

"Guess I should have assumed you were single."

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Girls don't like dog breath."

"Yeah well, guys don't like cat ladies."

The two lost track of time as they talked. They switched topics on a whim and got into intense debates about whose country had the best food and what animal was the superior companion, dogs or cats. When Shino came to relieve Kiba from his post, Kiba waved him off dismissively saying "S'all right man I got this."

Leaving the room Shino found Kurenai leaning against the wall. "It's nice," she said, "they're soldiers from two competing countries, and yet they are becoming friends. It's things like this that prevent conflict and even stop wars."

"Or make inevitable conflict all the more difficult," Shino said simply.

Kurenai sighed, "Why would we go to war with the Cloud? Our Hokage prioritizes peace, and the Raikage might not be known for his patience but he is an honorable man and wouldn't start something without reason."

"Leaders change, humans can be power hungry, and many aren't as quick to forgive as our current leader. Ask Hinata about that." Shino left before Kurenai could reply. Shino wasn't wrong, Kurenai knew, but seeing Yugito burst into laughter at a joke Kiba made, she also knew that there were things that Shino wasn't taking into account.

0o0o0o0

It didn't take long for Fū and Naruto's lunch break to devolve into an eating contest, to Teuchi's great delight. Once again Naruto won after Fū vomited up her fifth bowl. "Yes! That's two nothing!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Oh, that's such a shame," Fū said to herself, the queasiness she was feeling showing in her voice, "that was actually really good and I wasted it all."

"You gonna be okay?" Naruto asked.

Fū waved him off, "yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. Just need a little time to recover, and what do you mean two nothing!? Our sparring matches were a tie!"

"But you gave up," Naruto laughed.

Fū gave him a light shove, "I was hungry, you jerk," but she was laughing too. Naruto noticed an odd euphoric feeling at the contact.

Ayame saw this and muttered to herself, "I warned you Hinata."

0o0o0o0

3 weeks earlier

"... and so they named the bridge after me, The Great Naruto Bridge"

"Wow, that's amazing!" Hinata said. She was sure Naruto had exaggerated the story but believed the overall message was sound. The news of Zabuza's death spread quickly, and if that much was true Hinata figured the rest of the story was credible enough.

"Yeah, well I'm a pretty amazing guy," Naruto said, a little more narcissistic than normal.

"I always thought so," Hinata said without thinking. She immediately tensed up and suppressed the urge to cover her mouth with her hands and bolt out of ichiraku. Her mind raced as she tried to think of all the ways to play it off and move the conversation to something else.

"Huh, did you say something?"

He didn't hear her. Hinata realized she had said it under her breath. "Never mind," she said with a wave of her hand. She felt relieved but also disappointed. Before she could talk herself out of it she said, "A-actually, Naruto, I… I said I always thought you were great."

Naruto's face turned red, "t-thanks. I, uh, always thought you were pretty great too." The overwhelming jubilation Hinata felt was quickly dashed when Naruto added, "I just wish Sakura thought that too, ya know."

"Why do you care about her so much, she's so mean to you?"

Naruto laughed it off, "If I was that picky I'd never find a girlfriend."

"Naruto, don't laugh that's a horrible thing to say!"

Naruto shrugged it off, "whatever."

"What happened to the Naruto who's going to become Hokage and recognized by everyone?"

"I… I'm not Hokage yet,"

"But if you're going to be the greatest Hokage ever, loved by all, why settle now with someone who doesn't want to give you the time of day?" Naruto didn't want to answer, he didn't want to acknowledge the possibility of failure; to acknowledge that it was possible this would be as good as it was going to get. Hinata continued, "You should forget about Sakura and pursue someone better; someone who makes you happy, who likes being with you as much as you like being with her; someone who… thinks you're great."

"Thanks, Hinata, I'll… I'll keep that in mind," Naruto got up and paid his bill, "I've got to go meet up with my team, ya know. See ya around."

"WHAT WAS THAT!?" Ayame scolded Hinata when she was sure Naruto was out of earshot. Hinata had forgotten that Naruto and she weren't truly alone.

"W-what?" Hinata was scared of the older girl's sudden rage.

"Why did you let him leave!? You're killing me here Hinata, you had the perfect opportunity to confess your feelings!"

"I-I wasn't really thinking about it."

"You pretty much said Sakura isn't into you and never will be, so give up, she's not worth it, but you'd be perfect for him. If you were just upfront about your feelings he'd be all yours now."

"I-I don't know, maybe I should move on too. Everyone else says my feelings are obvious, but he's never said anything. Maybe… maybe I'm the one who's not taking the hint"

Teuchi chimed in, "Nah, it's him. He's a lot like his father that way. Minato could never take a hint. Naruto's mother had to grab him by the collar and shake some sense into him, literally, before he figured it out." Hinata had trouble picturing the great noble Fourth Hokage being shaken up by his future wife.

"Look Hinata," Ayame continued, "I've been watching you pine over that boy for literally years. I can tell you really love Naruto; not just some kiddy crush but genuine love, but I'm going to be brutally honest with you here, Naruto isn't going to be available forever. If you don't hurry someone is going to come and snatch him up, and you'll have no one to blame but yourself when another girl is in his arms."

0o0o0o0

The moon was shining bright. The air was cool and crisp. The thud thud thud of Hinata striking a tree drowned out most of the wildlife's chatter. She was interrupted by the sound of Yugito clearing her throat. Hinata knew she was there. It's hard to sneak up on someone with eyes in the back of her head. "Yes?" Hinata asked not turning to face Yugito and continuing to strike the tree.

"Well um... you see" Yugito stammered "I know we got off on the wrong foot and I just wanted to apologize… again"

"Is that all?"

"umm… n-no I also wanted to say that you all seem like good people and I was hoping you and I could be friends."

"No."

Yugito wasn't expecting such a blunt response, "why?"

"I have no love of the land of Lightning or for its people."

"I know our countries haven't been... friendly and things that should have never happened happened, but I think old enemies can become friends and maybe if..."

"I SAID NO!"

Yugito was taken aback by the sudden outburst, "Please Hinata, what can I do to show you my intentions are pure?"

Hinata finally turned to face the slightly older girl with the same animosity she showed when Yugito first woke up. "Bring my uncle back," she said simply.

"Did he die during the war?" Yugito asked softly, she knew first hand how wars affected the families at home.

"No, that would have been understandable. One of your ambassadors tried to kidnap me when I was little, and my uncle saved me but killed the ambassador," she spoke in a sad matter of fact tone, "but your nation still made a fuss about the dead kidnapper and demanded my uncle's head for contribution, they were willing to start a war, so they got what they wanted."

Yugito wouldn't meet Hinata's eyes but still took a deep breath before saying, "the last Raikage lead the Cloud in ways today we recognize as morally repugnant, and I truly apologize on behalf of my nation, but we are different now, I promise things are different."

"I sometimes lie awake at night wondering what would have happened to me if my uncle didn't save me; what sick twisted things your nation would have done to me. Sometimes I think maybe it would have been better if I was taken because my cousin would still have his father around. He hates me by the way, my cousin. He takes out all his pent-up anger and loneliness on me. Dad took it well though that is until mom died. Now he barely talks to me or my sister. So, tell me again how things are different."

Yugito bowed her head, "I will leave you in peace."

"Thank you," after Yugito left Hinata felt an uncomfortable tightening in her chest. She knew Yugito was not to blame for the death of her uncle and all that came of it, but she also couldn't help but loathe her presence and her heritage. She felt as if the two conflicting emotions were burning her from the inside, becoming more and more intense and soon would rise to the surface and set her skin ablaze as well.

The only thing she could think to do is to distract herself with mindless training but before she could a voice from behind said, "Wow, that was… uncomfortable." Hinata looked to find Kiba standing before her.

"Kiba?" she asked, "h-how long have you been standing there."

"Eh, long enough… You know it's not really Yugito's fault; what happened to your family."

"I know."

"and when she attacked us it was an honest mistake."

"I know."

"And-"

"I know!... I know Kiba."

"So if you hate her so much why did you save her?"

"I never said I hated her I just… don't like her... kind." Hinata winced at her own choice of words. "and she's still a person. I couldn't just let her suffer even if I... have a grudge."

"Well, you could try giving her a chance… she seems pretty cool."

Hinata noted the odd tone of voice. "You like her," she concluded.

"Well… like I said she seems cool and you can never have too many friends and-"

"No, I mean you like like her."

"Where did you get that idea!?"

"I've known you forever Kiba. You think I can't tell when you have a crush?"

"Yeah s-so maybe I do."

"You know a relationship between two soldiers from two separate countries wouldn't work out"

"Hey! Your one to talk! The little princess who fell in love with a trouble-making street urchin"

"H-hey! Tha-"

"Come on Hinata you know I got you there"

"I have training to get back to," Hinata said and turned her back to the boy. She knew it wasn't the same but she didn't want to get into it with Kiba, she was just too tired.