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Disclaimer: So troublesome...I don't own it. Happy?
Cloud: I'm too tired to think of anything to say.
Kairi: ZzzZzzZzzZzzZ...
Cloud: Special Thanks goes out to Ayeka-chan, Firerose1300, lazyshinoby'sgirl, PabloandDuck, and Mae for their kind reviews. Thank you so much!
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Chapter 3
Oblivious
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After lingering for a few seconds, his hand drew back and retreated into a secure pocket. He stood up suddenly and looked at the confused kunoichi with a barely noticeable blush adorning his tan cheeks.
"Kiba, I-I don't understand..." Hinata stuttered, looking adorably confused.
"Wait here. I'll be right back." Kiba said, walking toward the door. Hinata stared at him as he walked away, and as soon as he had left the room, she touched her cheek where his hand had caressed her. It still tingled softly, and she felt an emotion she couldn't quite place, having never felt it before. She stared off into space, her mind swimming with muddled thoughts, while her hand remained on her pale cheek.
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"Ok, so you know what to do, right?" Kiba asked the huge dog before him.
Akamaru barked in response and then whined softly, looking upset.
"Yeah, I know you don't want to. But this is the best plan I can come up with without having to tell her directly. "
Akamaru barked again, his tail now wagging excitedly. Kiba's eyes widened fractionally and then narrowed.
"Hey, I'm not stupid!" Kiba yelled defensively. "This is just the easiest thing to do that will prove to Hinata that she does have talent."
Akamaru barked happily, smiling a sharp-toothed, canine smile.
"Yeah I know, I know..." Kiba said softly, a blush painted across his cheeks. "Let's just get this over with, while I'm mentally prepared."
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Hinata continued to stare off into space, lost in thought. Then she heard footsteps growing louder, and she turned her pale gaze toward the door, finally taking her hand off of her cheek. The wild-looking brunette appeared in the doorway, bearing an extremely disarming grin.
"Sorry about that. I wanted to go tell Akamaru that you had woken up." Kiba informed her. "He said that he'll be up in a minute."
Hinata nodded in understanding, and seconds later Akamaru appear behind Kiba, a jagged looking bone in his mouth. He looked at Hinata, his dark eyes full of canine love. He bounded into the room and bumped into Kiba, knocking the brunette to the ground. In one fluid leap, Akamaru was up on the bed, licking Hinata's face, the bone now abandoned.
"Ah-h A-Akamaru s-stop it!" Hinata scolded affectionately. When the large white dog had finally licking her face, she turned and looked at Kiba, a small smile on her face. That small smile turned into a frown in an instant when she saw the slightly pained expression on Kiba's face. He was leaning slightly, and she realized that he must have gotten hurt when Akamaru knocked into him. But when she spotted the jagged tear in Kiba's pants, she concluded that it was the bone that Akamaru had been holding in his mouth had been the cause of the brunette's pain. She got up and walked over to Kiba to examine his wound. There was a trail of blood leaking down from a long, but shallow cut.
"Kiba, would you mind sitting down for me?" Hinata asked softly.
"Yeah, no problem." Kiba said, his expression still slightly pained. He sat down, and then Hinata rolled up his pant leg to reveal an unnaturally smooth calf. Hinata looked up at Kiba inquisitively, with one thin eyebrow raised, which caused the brunette to blush horribly.
"It was an accident! Hana told me that ninjas needed to be aerodynamic so that they could fight better! She told me that shaving my legs would help, and when I finally realized that she was full of crap, I had already completely shaved that leg! So I had to do the other one. And then I kinda got used to how it felt..." Kiba said all in a rush, his markings now almost invisible due to the shade of red his face had turned.
"Nice and silky smooth, eh?" Hinata teased, causing Kiba to blush even more. But at the same time he had to smile. Hinata hardly ever teased anyone, and times when she did, in his opinion, were times to cherish.
Hinata turned her attention back to the brunette's injury and continued to roll his pant leg up. After it was rolled up enough to be completely out of the way, Hinata studied the cut further. After a few seconds of examination, Hinata knew exactly what to use.
"Kiba, could you tell me where my hoodie is please?" Hinata asked, her gaze still on the angry red injury.
"Oh, right. I forgot about that. Sorry about having to take it, but it was all wet and I didn't want you to get even more sick. I was going to wash it, so it's in the laundry room. Want me to go get it?"
"No, you stay right here. Just tell me where to go to get it." Hinata responded.
"Ok, it's on this floor. Go out this room to the right and down the hallway. Second door on your left." Kiba instructed.
Hinata nodded and walked out of the room, her pale eyes taking in her new surroundings. After all, she had never been to Kiba's house until now, despite how long they had been friends. She quickly spotted a large pile of dirty clothes, her hoodie resting on top. Leafing through the pockets, she smiled happily when she found what she was looking for. She walked back down the hallway, and then spotted the bathroom. She walked in and then started to look through the drawers beneath the sink. When she finally found one containing wash cloths, she took a deep red one and then turned on the sink, letting it get thoroughly wet. Then she wrung it out slightly and carried it back to Kiba's room, carefully avoiding letting it drip onto the floor.
She walked into Kiba's room and hurried over to the brunette, her pale eyes full of concern. Immediately she began to clean the crimson blood off of his tan calf, and once it was nice and clean, she picked up the small container that she had searched for, and then took the lid off quickly.
"Now this might sting for a second." Hinata warned Kiba, taking some of the light, creamy substance onto her thin finger. She smeared the substance right over the cut carefully, making sure to cover the entire area. Kiba watched her apply the substance, and then gasped when he saw his own wound start to seal back together. The only evidence that showed that he had even been injured was the pale pink outline of where the cut had once been.
"Wow...you've gotten a lot better with your remedies..." Kiba said admiringly.
"Thank you Kiba. I'm glad you think it works." Hinata said meekly.
"'Think it works'?" Kiba echoed, looking surprised. "Were we watching the same thing just now? That cut is completely gone! And so is the pain!"
"Yeah, but there is a mark...look." Hinata said tracing the pink line with one delicate finger.
"Who cares about a barely noticeable mark? It will fade with time anyways. Hinata, your really amazing with remedies. No, scratch that. Your a genius when it comes to stuff like healing. You have so much natural talent."
"Kiba...that's the first time..." Hinata started to say, her pale eyes, to Kiba's horror, brimming with tears. "That's the first time that someone has ever said something like that to me. Thank you."
Kiba smiled softly, realizing her tears were that of joy, not sorrow. She smiled back at him, drying her eyes with the back of her pale hand.
"Anytime, Hinata. Anytime."
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Cloud: Another chapter done!
Kairi: (wakes up) Huh? What's going on?
Cloud: You missed it.
Kairi: Missed it? Oh no! I'll catch it! Don't worry! (runs off)
Cloud: Um...right. Please review! I'll try to update as soon as I can, but keep in mind. Reviews are motivation!