The Arms of a Friend

Hinata walked quickly down a small pathway, through tall bushes of exotic flowers, until she reached a small clearing near the bottom of the garden. It was peaceful here, surrounded by tall trees, still covered in Summer's late blossoms. There was a small pond, with large stones around it, filled with serene koi. She sat by it, and let the tears fall freely into the previously undisturbed water. She knew that spin the bottle was just a stupid game, a stupid, silly game that meant nothing. But if it meant nothing then…what was that look in Naruto's eyes, right before he kissed Sakura?
He hadn't even kissed her yet, she sobbed to herself. And he'd had a crush on Haruno Sakura since the year dot. How could Hinata match up to the pretty, flirty pink haired girl?
Oh, this sake has made me so emotional, she thought to herself. Not as bad as last year, when it had made her ill, and Neji had to carry her all the way home, much to his annoyance.
A noise behind her made her sit upright. She was sure a twig had just snapped further up the path. Who had followed her? Naruto? Sakura?
Who had cared enough to see where she'd gone?

*

Kiba cursed himself slightly. A damn good ninja he was, unable to sneak up on someone. Should he just turn around and go back to his friends? He heard Shikamaru shouting, and some laughter back on the lawn. There was a crash. It sounded as if the buffet table had been knocked over. Maybe Choji was awake now?
Hinata was standing up now, and he could see the tears in her eyes. No, he wouldn't go back. She needed someone.
He cleared his throat and entered the clearing.
"Hinata." His voice was barely a whisper. "Hinata-chan. Are you okay?"
She looked up, startled by his sudden appearance.
"H-hai, Kiba-kun. Just needed some space."
A breeze moved the tree branches above them and caused some of the blossom there to fall slowly around them, a devastatingly beautiful snow. One delicate petal landed in Hinata's hair, and Kiba walked forward to brush it away. As he touched her hair, his hand brushed against her forehead and he felt a surge of electricity go through him. His heart fluttered, again. He looked down into her pretty face, her large, pale eyes reflecting his own, dark eyes.
"Do you want to go back to the party? I think I heard Choji getting out form under the buffet table. It's fair to say he'll be crying at the loss of the food and…"
Her expression stopped his words.
She moved towards him and put her arms around him.
"Th-thankyou, Kiba-kun, for coming to find me."
He stood there, frozen for a while, feeling her tiny arms around his waist, squeezing him slightly. Then he put his own, strong arms around her, placing a hand on her back, another on the back of her head. She had the fragrance of a perfect flower. She was so pretty. He felt his heart beat a little faster. Was it the sake, or was it her closeness?
He couldn't think straight, he knew that for sure. He settled for just inhaling the scent of her hair, feeling her small body pressed to his. Was she trembling, or was that him?

*

After what seemed like forever, she broke away from him, avoiding his eyes. She looked back to the direction of laughter. It seemed far away. So far away from this nice quiet spot. Strange. She thought none of her other friends could be so happily silent as Neji could. But she was wrong. Kiba contentedly stood with her, not saying a word, not needing to. His embrace had calmed her, and she didn't understand why.
She felt a blush come to her cheeks suddenly, and without warning. Kiba had grown into a handsome young man, his hair was still messy, his eyes still like a mournful puppy's. However, in the moonlight he looked radiant, and for some reason she couldn't take her eyes off him. When had these strange new feeling emerged? Why did it feel so different from when she looked at Naruto.

*

Kiba smiled down at Hinata.
"Come on, let's get back to that lot. Naruto will be wondering where his little one's got to" – he almost choked on these words – "and I won't be held responsible for whisking you away!"
As he said it he thought he'd love to do nothing more than to whisk her away.
They turned and began to head back to the lawn. Hinata walked in silence alongside Kiba, as they passed by those exotic flowers again. Before they emerged from the small path, he turned to her. His eyes were alight with emotion. She looked up at him as he slowly leant in towards her, and kissed her lightly on the mouth. He then ran off, back up to the lawn, where Shikamaru was trying to drag Choji away from the ruined food.
Hinata stood for a while, watching his retreating back. Her hand moved to her lips, tingling slightly from his kiss.
What did it mean? How had that happened? Why was her heart beating so fast?
"Hinata-chan!"
Naruto's shout interrupted her train of thought, as he ran across the grass to reach her.