A/N: A little shoutout to all my fantabulous reviewers Kawaii-no-Kitsune, XxDarkSarcasm1010xX, AmaranteX (yay a new face!), Prescripto13 and finally MaliBiser (thanks for the awesome PM by the way!). OK, I've edited chapter 3, so if you haven't read the edit, you had better back track or you won't get what happens in this chapter! Don't worry, it's only around the last part. And sorry if this chapter is a little short.

Now for some generic NaruHina/KibaHina fluff! Remember to review! Haha.

Chapter 4: We Meet Once Again

"Naru…Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah…what is it, Hinata?" Naruto stopped in his tracks, and grinned at her.

"I—um…um…"

"Speak up Hinata! Come on! You look so different now, but you haven't changed a bit on the inside! How can that be the Hinata I know?"

Different…he noticed…me…

Hinata felt her face burning up. Naruto…had noticed her. Finally…finally…

She closed her eyes blissfully and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Hinata?" Naruto shook her, "uh Hinata?"

How could this be?

Kiba watched Naruto shake an unconscious Hinata. He was suppressing the temptation to go up to them and wake Hinata himself. Akamaru whined.

He placed a hand on his companion's head.

Even after all this time, she was still oblivious to the person who truly cared about her. Even after all their training together, all their missions, all the team bonding sessions, all the concern he showed for her…she could only think of…Naruto.

Kiba lowered his eyes as Hinata began to rouse. He had always wanted her to be happy…to see that she truly was a wonderful ninja. He always wanted her to have a little confidence in herself, in her abilities, and that she could do whatever she wanted, if she just put her mind to it.

And today, while he normally would have walked up to them and interrupted, he decided not to. Hinata would want to wake up to see the person she admired most. Not…him.

Kiba watched.

"N-Naruto-kun…what happened?"

"Heh! You passed out again? Why do you always do that when you're around me?"

Hinata's eyes widened and she was steadily turning red again. Kiba smiled. She was probably thinking: He actually noticed that…

And that Naruto was such a dunce. Hinata obviously admired him. Perhaps even to the extent of having feelings for him. How could someone be that clueless?

Perhaps it was because Naruto only had eyes for that Sakura Haruno. But Kiba had always thought privately that Hinata was far stronger, far more beautiful than any other girl he had met.

In a way, he admired Hinata. Her willpower, her kindness, her innocence…everything about her…Kiba liked that.

"Sakura-chan!" he heard Naruto cry suddenly. He looked up and saw the orange-clad ninja wave vigorously at Sakura who was walking down the street with that Sai guy.

Akamaru barked, and pointed towards Hinata. She had been left alone, and was getting up by herself as Naruto charged all the way to Sakura's side.

Kiba watched her. She had her back turned to him. She seemed to be just standing there, looking at Sakura and Naruto.

Hinata. I'm just here…what about me?

"Kakashi Hatake?!" Tsunade exclaimed incredulously. She composed herself.

"Explain."

"I—uh, would rather have you call him here. Would it be…too much of a hassle? Tsunade-sama?" Kinade said uneasily. She was blushing very hard.

"I'll send a bird to him immediately Tsunade-sama," said Shizune.

The Hokage nodded, still not taking her eyes off Kinade. The dark-haired assistant brushed past Yamato and hurried out of the room.

Kinade clenched her fists. This was it. If Kakashi couldn't recognize her…it would be over.

"Kinade Uchiha. If Kakashi does not support your claim, I am afraid I will have to detain you," Tsunade said ominously.

"I…understand."

Kakashi…was coming…she was going to see him again. What would happen? Everything was just so sudden…and she had such little time to process it. Her resurrection, to put it morbidly…and there was the problem of her identity.

Her family was dead. Every single one of them. There was no one alive who could reliably prove who she was. And just like that, she felt more alone than she had ever felt in her life.

She didn't know why everything was happening to her of all people. She had gotten a second chance at life. She was going to see him again. She was supposed to be happy. But how could she be?

He was her last hope.

Shizune soon returned. And just seconds after her, Kakashi Hatake materialized into their midst.

Kinade flinched. He was here.

"Sorry I'm late Tsunade-sama."

He was here. Finally. Alive, before her. She felt an acute pain in her chest, and her head started throbbing very badly. Her vision clouded and focused repeatedly. She was getting very dizzy. She could hear her own heartbeat. Her heart seemed to be throwing itself against her ribcage.

She clutched her chest, gasping for breath. It…hurt. What was this feeling…

Her knees gave way and she fell. She was suddenly deaf. She could see, in the corner of her eyes, all of the people present opening their mouths, probably to shout.

Only Kakashi…had his back to her. And…he was turning around to face her. She was going to see his face again. She was so…

Happy.

That was the only word that could describe her. She felt her entire body seizing up.

Her vision was blurring and she was seeing things in slow motion. Kakashi was turning, painfully slowly.

I'm here. I'm here, before you, alive. Now…and I hope…forever…

"What is this? Sai? Are you telling me…there is another one?"

"Yes, Danzo-sama," Sai smiled.

Danzo fell silent, his expression unreadable.

Sai watched him carefully. He had always assumed Danzo wasn't human.

There couldn't be any one else like him. So…emotionless. No one in ROOT was able to completely close themselves and eliminate their feelings, like Danzo-sama had.

"How did you find out Sai?"

"I personally escorted her to Hokage-sama's office. And I happened to overhear them talking. That woman called herself an Uchiha."

"And what else?"

"I found it…suspicious Danzo-sama. Should she truly be an Uchiha, it would be advantageous for you to know."

"…It is excellent that you have the sense to report this to me. You…reassure me of your loyalty. I will confirm this. Until then, I want you to continue your act. Inform me of anything…out of order."

"Understood, Danzo-sama."

And I hope, Sai, that you really are just acting…

Whoa, I thought the last part was a little…dark. Like, we need a main antagonist now right? Well, it has to be Danzo because of several underlying reasons. By the way, I may or may not do a full length Itachi-Sasuke fight coverage. Or any other canon events if they're irrelevant to the story. I think I'll set this as a sort of filler arc just before the Invasion of Pein. Heh. Thanks for reading! Review if you can!

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