Wow, a fast update. This must be a first for me...but don't go getting used to it. I was just feeling all inspired, and before I knew it, I'd written this lot. And I thought it would be mean to keep it from all you lovelies. Thanks to those who reviewed and alerted, you're the reason for my inspiration.

Innocence - Chapter 2

Hinata woke up on a floor, aching and half-blinded by bright light. Almost instantly, she remembered the previous evening, and sat up. He clothes were runkled, her hair a mess, and the time...was 6am. She only had half an hour left before training started!

She thought about peeking in on Anko, but she didn't want to be met with a kunai – or worse, a perverted invitation – so she quietly activated her bloodline limit, and saw the little flat was empty. Blushing at her own boldness, (even though she knew it wasn't really, because nobody was there to see her) she slunk into the bathroom, washing her face and rinsing the sour coating from her teeth. Her top appeared to have a sticky stain on it, and she didn't have time to get something at home, so she nervously entered Anko's bedroom to find something to borrow.

In the end, she had to make do with a mesh shirt that was too loose round her waist and too tight across her breasts. At least it had quite a tight knit; some of the tops were so widely knitted they were more gap than thread. Even so, Hinata felt horribly exposed without her usual black tank-top, and zipped her jacket up all the way before leaving the house.

Her stomach rumbled hungrily, but she was willing to wait until she could ask a teammate for food rather than taking liberties with even more of the snake-kunoichi's property. Being on Anko's good side was scary enough; her bad side was too terrifying to even contemplate. Plus she admired the woman, and even though it had been excruciatingly embarrassing, Anko had given her advice when she asked.

Oh yeah, Anko's advice. She needed to find somebody to kiss. But now wasn't the time, she needed to hurry or she would be late, and her father would be furious if he found out. Her legs protested as she accelerated into a sprint, but at least it warmed her up a little. She was going to be cold and stiff all day unless she could shake off last night's uncomfortable sleeping arrangements.

She arrived, panting, with barely five minutes to spare. And just her luck, nobody else had come yet. She could have taken her time after all, rather than running at top speed across the village until she could barely stand. With a sigh, she sat down to catch her breath, leaning against a training post. It was boiling now, with the sun coming up and her blood pounding from exertion, but she didn't want to take off her jacket, just in case the others arrived without warning. Still, she unzipped it a little, just enough to let the breeze reach her neck and clear off the accumulated sweat.

Still tired from her poor night's sleep, and weary from her rushed start, she drifted off into a doze. It was fine, she was on home soil. She wouldn't sleep too soundly to notice the others' arrival.

#

She woke with a gasp as the wood behind her head vibrated, emitting a dull thunk. Immediately, training kicked in, and she activated her bloodline. Two kunai, either side of her head, and Kiba, stupid Kiba, grinning down at the top of her head, standing on top of the post.

"Rise and shine, Hinata-chan!" He laughed at her as she frowned, then sobered a little. "Seriously Hinata, you should make sure you get enough sleep. I could have been anyone."

"I wasn't really asleep, I just had a bad night and needed to relax while I waited. I think I would have woken if it was anybody else." She still sounded groggy, and her mouth felt too dry, but she got up anyway. The last thing she wanted was to look dopey when Kurenai arrived. Absentmindedly, she flashed Kiba the hand-signal for 'food break', murmuring her thanks when he passed her an energy bar.

"Uh, Hinata? Are things okay with you? I mean, no offence, but you smell kinda un-fresh, and if you arrived on time you've been asleep for hours now, which I don't think you've ever done before. Is there something up?" He sat down to lean against the post at right angles to her, and she sank back down to look blankly at the treetops. Could she trust him? She trusted him with her life daily, but with her emotions? Well, she'd just have to go carefully.

"I ended up sleeping on Miterashi-san's floor. I went to her for a-advice, and she got me drunk, and I only slept a little bit. I'm sorry." She muttered, blushing even though she hadn't let slip what the advice was yet. Kiba blinked at her, not looking round even when Akamaru bounded through the trees towards them.

"Hinata-chan, you know you can come to me or Kurenai-sensei anytime you need us, right? Or Shino, if you think he can help. If there's trouble at home or something, we're here for you. That's what teammates are for." His voice was lowered, intense with a quiet concern, and she felt silly for worrying. Of course she could trust him. Maybe he could even help her find the right boy for the job.

"It's nothing really, just I wanted advice on how to become more...um, maybe I should wait until Shino-kun and Kurenai-sensei arrive." After all, she didn't want to make such an embarrassing confession more times than necessary. Kiba started, then grinned guiltily.

"Oh, I forgot to say – they're off on a mission. I came here to tell you we wouldn't be training today. But you can still tell me now, whatever it is." She nodded, mind whirling franticly. Kiba was a friend, a friend she trusted. And nobody else would come to these training grounds today. Her family would think she was training, so she wouldn't have to explain her absence. It was perfect, she couldn't let the opportunity pass.

"Um, well. I was asking her a-about b-b-"

"Hinata, calm down. It's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Just, if you do want to, I'm here, 'kay?" He really was nice. She shook her head, waving away his concern.

"I do want to tell you, it's just...embarrassing. I wanted to get more confidence, especially with b-boys. So I don't blush and faint and everything when Na-naruto gets back. And, uh, Miterashi-san suggested that I, um, p-practiced. With a boy who is a friend, just to get used to k-kissing and things." There, she'd said it. Hinata buried her face in her knees, trying to hide her blush and failing miserably. Next to her Kiba was sitting far too still, and she could just imagine the look of disappointed shock on his face.

She peeked out the corner of one eye to check, but her prediction turned out to be only half correct. Kiba looked shocked, certainly, but he looked...not quite happy, but something similar. slowly, she lifted her head and dared to meet his eyes again.

"Wh-what do you think, Kiba-kun? Is it a good idea, or would that make me a...a s-slut?" His eyes widened even further as he turned to face her fully, arms raising automatically to emphasize his point. She flinched preemptively, expecting his voice to be raised too, in chastisement. But when he spoke, his voice was low but firm, so soft she had to lean forwards to hear it.

"Hinata-chan, you could never be a slut. Shino and I will help you any way we can. We're teammates, we're here for you, we'll do anything you want, nothing more, nothing less." The sincerity in is voice made her stomach tighten, but at least she couldn't blush any redder. But even so, Shino too? She couldn't do that, that really would be indecent.

"I couldn't do anything with both of you, but well...maybe, just to learn about it, not to be more than friends or anything of course, but...could you help me learn to k-kiss?" She held back a cringe this time when he looked away, more confident now that it wasn't a sign of disgust, but still afraid he might reject her. She didn't think she would ever manage to ask Naruto something like this, when she felt this nervous even when it was Kiba, who she had known for years and only liked as a friend.

His eyes raised, something in them she didn't examine, too busy sighing in relief when he nodded slightly.

"I said, Hina, anything." And then his face was closer, tilted up slightly, and she wasn't sure what to say because she hadn't meant now, not right this second, but at the same time she knew they didn't have all day – training usually only lasted until lunchtime. So she swallowed against nothing and twisted round so her mouth was only a whisper away, her hand propping her up only hair's breadth from his.

She could feel the heat of his skin, and see the tiny freckles that dotted the spot were is nose and eye and cheek met, and she was still hesitating when he moved forward just a tiny bit more. Their lips touched, and she jumped slightly form the sensation – warm and soft, oddly not wet like she'd half imagined, but smooth and dry – then felt bad for flinching and pressed her own mouth forwards to mould against his.

Uh...I suppose this might count as a cliffhanger. Sorry!

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