Let the Music Do the Talking, a Naruto Fanfiction

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto

A/N: Before we start I'd like to dedicate this chapter in memory of UrBoiPedro12, who I found out recently from the Naruto Fanfiction subreddit passed away a few weeks ago. He was a great member of the Naruto fanfiction community and a fantastic writer who wrote some excellent stories. My condolences go out to his family at this difficult time.

Rest In Peace, friend, you will be sorely missed by all the fans who treasured your stories.

Chapter 5: Pull Me Under

A cold Monday morning greeted the students of Konoha High. After what seemed to be a genuinely good weekend, the presence of strong winds as everyone walked to school came as a bit of a surprise.

In the main hallway, Naruto and Kiba met up by their respective lockers, with the blonde showcasing a massive grin that didn't seem to leave his face. Kiba shot him a look somewhere between puzzled and bemused.

"I'm guessing your little weekend went well?" He questioned with curiosity.

"Pretty much." Naruto ruffled his own hair. "Not going to lie, she's pretty awesome."

"Uh-huh," Kiba continued, as he rummaged through his books. "But how long do you plan on keeping this hidden? There's only so much you can do before anyone else finds out."

"And what if people do find out about it, Kiba? Does it really matter if anything?" He retorted with a tinge of anger. "I'm tired of people pretending to be something they're not. Ino's great, she just needs some more confidence in herself that's all."

Kiba's eyes widened at his response. "You mean she puts on this persona during school hours? And how do you know she's genuine? I still think she could pull a fast one on you and leave you humiliated. I'm one of your best friends, Naruto, practically my brother. I won't let my brother fall victim to some bitch's bullshit."

He placed a hand on his shoulder. "I appreciate the concern, brother. Let's just call it a gut feeling eh?"

Kiba exhaled "You better be right."

"Also, speaking of," Naruto said, moving on from the subject. "Any plans for Hinata? You spoke pretty highly of her the other day, and now I'm curious how you're going to play it cool."

"It's not about 'playing it cool'. It's about getting to know her. I mean I heard stuff about her family. Something along the lines of 'the parents don't approve of certain types wanting to date her'."

"Got a plan for that?"

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Right now, I want to spend more time with her."

Further down the hall, Kabuto was at his own locker sorting his books. The rest of the weekend had left him feeling drained, to say the least. Having to spy on Naruto was not part of his plans, and ever since sending a message to Karin on Saturday evening, she hadn't been in contact with him. What was she up to and how was he going to get out of this situation?

His train of thought was interrupted by a female voice.

"Hey, um, Kabuto?"

He turned over his shoulder to see none other Namida Suzumeno, the girl he had unrequited feelings for. She was roughly the same height as him, had brown eyes with matching brown hair done up in two pigtails, wearing her school uniform to which she had donned with a peach coloured scarf around her neck. The other notable thing that stood out was the small beauty mark under her right eye.

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "N-Namida, how are you? I-Is everything alright?" He replied nervously.

Namida produced a timid smile. "Very well thanks. I was wondering, do you have a copy of Mr Yamato's notes for class later on? I misplaced mine the other day and I noticed that you take notes for most of everything." Her face turned slightly pink, as her gaze fell to the floor. "Could I...could I borrow them? I'll make sure you get them back at lunch."

Kabuto stood there surprised as anything. Is she talking to me out of pure innocence? Or did Karin go back on her word and this is all part of an elaborate scheme? He lightened his expression. No...her face says something else. But I can't be too careful. He peered over her shoulder. No sign of Karin.

He took a breath. "Sure, just a second." He opened up his notebook and handed over some papers stapled together inside a small plastic wallet. "Here's everything you should need. I think he's going to quiz us, especially on the part of pairings within the periodic table. Just remember 'Co-ni', 'Te-i' and 'Ar-k' and you should be fine."

She nodded gracefully as she looked over the notes. "That's a great way to remember. Thanks, Kabuto, I'll see you at lunch."

"You're welcome." He answered gently.

The two were then joined by one of Namida's friends.

"Hey Namida, are you all set?" It was Wasabi Izumo, a tomboyish looking girl with short brown hair, green eyes, wearing her uniform combined with a neck choker, black bracelets, green nail polish, lime green mascara decorating her eyes and chewing a piece of gum.

"Yep, just getting some help is all." She smiled greatly at the boy, causing him to blush in response.

"I see," Wasabi noted, popping a bubble from her gum. Her gaze crossed with his. "Yakushi."

"Izumo." He said flatly, acknowledging her presence.

"Come, I wanna hear all about your weekend! You will not believe what happened to me!" Wasabi pulled Namida by her wrist, dragging her down the hallway.

"Catch ya later Kabuto!" Namida cried out as she was pulled away into a classroom.

Kabuto had waved her off, now looking completely embarrassed by the whole thing.

"Aww, how adorable."

Then came a voice that he didn't want to hear. He looked over his shoulder to see none other than the ice queen herself, Karin.

"What do you want, Karin?" He spoke angrily. "I did what you asked, and I thought we'd be done with all that."

Karin scoffed. "What's up with you? The girl you like asks you for something and now you're acting all 'alpha' on me? Please, you're a joke." She stepped closer, slamming her hand on a locker with great force. "Remember, you step out of line with me and I WILL make your life a living hell. Are we clear on that?"

Kabuto lowered his eyes. "Crystal." He muttered quietly, adjusting his glasses. "What do you need next?"

Ino and Sakura had met up outside the former's house and began walking to school together.

"So how was your weekend then Ino?" Sakura asked as they began their walk.

The platinum-blonde was unsure of how to answer. It was bad enough keeping all of this from Karin, but Sakura? Unlike the former, the latter seemed to be the 'voice of reason' when it came to their group; she would often come up with the overall solution to a problem at hand or be the one to cool the air if things became too riled up.

Just a couple of months ago, she had managed to defuse a tense situation in the lunch hall when Karin and Sai had squared off over an argument regarding his personal life. Karin had been mouthing off how Sai could possibly be a homosexual since he hadn't dated another girl since Ino and the latter had overheard it, to which then he had responded that she was a complete and total whore who had no business talking about another person's sexual orientation in public. Sakura had managed to calm the situation down without anyone throwing a punch, but the tension between the two had remained ever since.

Ino looked puzzled, thinking how she would respond. After a moment, she had the perfect answer.

"Oh, I hung out with my Dad and my cousin for the day. We went down to the edge of the Fire Country to the forest there. Did some sports, had a cookout, it was great. Just great to unwind for a bit."

An answer that was furthest from the truth, but Ino told herself that she had the gift of the gab to get out of situations.

"Ah that's awesome," Sakura replied. "Better than what I did; stuck doing homework, shopping with my parents and gardening. My parents aren't the most fun to be with as you probably know; mum's got to be all about the rules and my dad…, well, 'dad jokes' doesn't even begin to cover his level of humour."

Ino chuckled. "Yeah, I hear that. Too many times I've fallen victim to your dad's terrible puns."

"If you don't mind me asking you, Ino," Sakura continued, shifting the topic of conversation. "Is there a boy you like at the moment?"

The tone of the question made her jump. "W-W-What makes you say that?" She answered with an eye roll.

"Well, call it crazy, but Karin thought it was because you've missed two of our Friday afternoon coffee hangouts, we had the hunch that you've been secretly meeting up with someone." Her face became plastered with a small grin. "Come on then, who is it? Have you been secretly eyeing up Sasuke and not saying anything? I promise I won't say anything."

The mention of the Uchiha suddenly made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and a feeling of sickness tickled the back of her throat, prompting her to place her hand over her mouth and swallow back down hard. Sakura was surprised at this, worrying if Ino was alright.

"Ugh…" Ino coughed, noticing she had made her best friend jump as she did. "...sorry, it's just..it's just I find Sasuke Uchiha to be an overbearing smug jackass who thinks because he's got heritage to live up to, doesn't mean he has the right to act the way he does!" She shook her head, regaining her composure. "Look, you saw how he acted towards Naruto and the others last week, over a stupid relay race! How can you get so upset over a ridiculous thing like that?"

"Ino…" Sakura didn't know what to think of her friend's manic outburst. Perhaps she was right and Sakura herself really didn't know the boy truly herself. But was Ino really seeing someone? Sakura thought it was best to end the conversation then and there.

"Hey, I'm sorry I asked. If you don't want to tell me, I understand." She felt bad having even brought up the conversation in the first place. "But I am your friend, and if you ever want to talk about anything, you know you can."

"Thanks, I'm sorry too, for scaring you like that," Ino said. "It's just I never thought someone could make me so mad as much as he did. I'll forget about it though." She looked down at her phone to check the time. "We'd better hurry, don't want Mr Shiranui kicking our asses for missing English!"

The two hurried into the school just before the bell rang for the first period. Monday mornings for their year group was always English Language and Literature with Genma Shiranui; he was a laid-back, easy-going sort of teacher, but like Asuma Sarutobi, if you rubbed him the wrong way, you'd expect a punishment of the highest order.

In class, Sakura and Ino sat next to each other as they noticed Kabuto looking a little off.

"Hey, what's up with Kabuto?" Ino gestured, noticing the boy two rows in front of her. He looked to be aggressively tapping his pencil on his desk with his right hand, and his left hand scratching his desk with his nail. "He looks a little...shaken."

Sakura looked up. Damn it, Karin, what the hell did you do to him? He looks like he's about to crack any moment.

"He's probably unwell, maybe a quick trip to the nurses' office will help." She replied, wishing she could answer truthfully to what was going on.

"...so anyway, can anyone please tell me the meaning behind Hamlet's objective in this play? Do you think he is actually mad or is feigning madness for the sake of finding out the truth?" Genma questioned the classroom with a book in his hand.

A volume of silence filled the air as the teacher looked around the room scoping for an answer.

"Anyone at all?" Genma asked again. "I swear you had better have studied at least part of this. There's a possibility this could come up in the exam soon and you have to make sure you're prepared."

Kabuto raised his hand. "It's subjective."

"Hm?" The teacher turned his head to hear his answer.

"The whole concept behind Hamlet's madness has been a subject for many decades after the story was published. The first argument is that one, Hamlet has gone insane due to the death of his father and seeing his father's ghost for the first time; that sanity is therefore questioned throughout, especially, when he violently berates his mother later on for marrying his uncle. The second argument comes from the idea that Hamlet has remained completely sane throughout the story and he is only faking madness to uncover the truth behind his father's murder. In the end, he is simply playing the part in order to understand what is happening in the state of Denmark and its people."

Genma almost spat out his toothpick at the detailed answer. He placed it on his own desk and cleared his throat.

"Looks like someone's been reading this book cover to cover. Excellent work, Kabuto." He commented by writing out some information on the blackboard.

Kabuto himself took a deep breath. His vision glanced to the right to see none other than Karin, shooting him a look of death. It was like his answer had been a subtle undertone to what was going on with everything around him. Her next request was a simple one, but again, it was something he felt dirty for. How much longer was she going to tie him to a leash like this?

Just a few more days of this. I apologise, Naruto… He let out a small grunt of pain, rubbing the side of his forehead.

"Excuse me, Mr Shiranui? Can I go to the nurses' office? I have a slight migraine and I forgot my medication today."

Genma looked over and nodded. "Of course Mr Yakushi. Please take your time. I'll have some handouts ready for you to pick up if you don't come back before the end of class."

"Thank you." He headed out towards the door, noticing Karin's eyes following him out as well.

Ino pondered at what she just witnessed. That was weird...and why is Karin eyeing him up like a hawk? Something's not right…

During the third period after morning recess, Kiba sat together with Hinata during Kurenai Yuhi's math class. Much to Kiba's annoyance, it was a lesson back to algebraic formulae. He looked over the textbook frantically, reading and re-reading the page, but still not understanding it.

"Damn this sucks." He muttered annoyingly. "How do you even substitute the right number for the letter?"

As he spent another moment looking over the formula, Hinata lightly tapped him on the arm.

"K-K-Kiba, do you want me to help you?"

He looked up from his book to see her face smiling back at him. His cheeks became tinted with a blush from the embarrassment. Great! How am I supposed to impress her if I can't solve problems like this? What if she thinks I'm a complete dumbass? Or what if she doesn't like smart guys and likes not so smart guys like me?

"Uh, sure." He answered quietly. "It's just not sure how this value works," He pointed to the formula.

Looking over it, she shook her head lightly. "Ah don't worry. You just have to remember BIDMAS and BODMAS to work out the correct order. See what you did is that you tried working out the plain numbers before doing the numbers in the brackets when it's meant to be the latter first," She scribbled a few notes on his paper and passed it back to him. "See?"

Kiba looked over both his notes again, realising she had been right. "Great, thanks Hinata. Sorry if I troubled you."

Hinata went slightly red. "D-Don't mention it. I-I was more than happy."

Kurenai Yuhi, who was sitting down in her chair, came over when she noticed the two of them talking.

"Miss Yuhi!" Hinata cried, "Kiba was just asking me a question is all."

The older woman smiled. "Don't worry Hinata. You're one of my best students and I've noticed Kiba hasn't been doing so well lately." The last of that line caused the boy to slam his head on the desk in shame.

Kurenai brought her hand to her chin, lightly tapping her thumb against her lip. "Tell you what; I think you two should sit together for the next couple of weeks. Kiba, I think it'll be good for you to work with Hinata to improve your grade. I have another test in a month's time and right now, I'm looking at a D Plus at best for you. And I really don't want to fail you at all. If you can scrape by with a C average, I'll let you pass. Otherwise, before next year, I will have to ask you to retake the end of year test again."

Kiba's jaw dropped, "You can't be serious!?" He exclaimed with a face of panic.

"Afraid so. If you don't pass, you'll have to do a makeup test before you're allowed to do your college subjects."

The boy's face cast a look of disappointment. If his mum found out about him failing math, she would probably be giving him the talking to of his life. Damn Yuhi and her class...then again, if Hinata can help that's always a plus… He shook his head abruptly. No damn it! She's here to help you, not so you can go gaga over her! But...she's so damn cute!

"Sure thing Miss Yuhi, I'd be more than happy to help out." Hinata beamed.

Kiba nodded reluctantly. "Yes, Miss Yuhi." As the lesson carried on, the two teens decided on a solution; Hinata would invite Kiba around her house twice a week for a maths refresher to help him with his work. Frankly, he was grateful that she had suggested it. Anything would be better than sitting with Kurenai Yuhi in an empty classroom after hours. It was like never-ending detention for him.

The lunchtime bell rang and the students made their way to the cafeteria. Kabuto, who was sitting on his own eating a sandwich was approached by Namida, who handed him back his notes.

"Thanks again Kabuto, this really helped me out."

"You're welcome," Kabuto replied. "Let me know if you need any more help."

Namida blushed slightly. "I-I will. Um, is everything alright? I heard from Wasabi you had to break class and head to the nurses' office…"

The boy was awed by her sudden interest in him, "It's nothing...just had a small migraine is all and I needed some time out of the classroom is all…"

Acknowledging his words, her face lightened into a smile. "Ah, I see. You take care of yourself now, okay?"

What? Is she actually interested in me? Or is she just being nice? Probably the latter, I'm not worth her time.

"Yeah, thank you, I will."

As Namida went off to join her friends at another table, Kabuto was quite stunned by the turn of events. He had to be careful though, especially with the certain red-head girl who had a metaphorical leash around his neck.

He turned back to his food and was soon joined by Naruto and Kiba who sat on either side of him.

"Oh, Naruto, what brings you here?" Kabuto questioned his presence. "It's not often you sit next to me."

"I wanted to see how you were doing is all," Naruto said. "I know we don't talk much, but you're still our classmate and I look out for others."

"Your compassion for others is impressive, Naruto. Thank you for your consideration. I'm doing okay...been having some personal troubles is all." He looked at the blonde with a sign of regret. Having to spy on him for someone else was really eating at him inside.

"That wouldn't have anything to do with Namida now would it?" Kiba joked as he opened his can of drink.

"It is most certainly not!" Kabuto shot back unamused. "She only asked for some advice regarding our science lesson together and I was more than happy to help her out."

Kiba sniggered. "Ah, playing it cool then huh? Don't worry dude, I won't say anything if you have a little crush on her."

Kabuto frowned. "It's...a little more complicated than that, but thanks. Speaking of," He carried on changing the subject. "How was your weekend Naruto?"

Naruto swallowed a mouthful of noodles abruptly before replying. "It was great! Spent the day with a friend and had a great time too! Hadn't seen them in a while, but it was fun to catch up."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses and he carried on with another bite of food. "You don't say? Sounds like a good day out."

"How about you?"

The grey-haired boy was hesitant to answer, especially with the matter of what he had actually done. "I was...in town doing some photography. The park looked nice so I decided to photograph around the lake."

"Nice," The blonde commented as he took a bite of food. "Got anything to show us?"

Kabuto gulped as he took the last bite of his sandwich "It's all still in the editing process, I have to fix the lighting and whatnot."

"Sounds great, can't wait to see it all."

Trust me Naruto, you don't.

Across the other side of the room sat Ino, Sakura and Karin.

"So I was thinking maybe we could get together sometime this week and work on Hatake's assignment. It's kicking my arse and frankly, I could use the catch-up with the two of you together, what do you say?" Sakura asked her friends.

"You suggesting Friday then?" Karin replied bored. " Because if it cuts into after school time, forget it."

"I've got no other spare time," Sakura grumbled. "The fact that Sarutobi's already pushing us to revise for a mock test in two weeks, plus I've got stuff at home too. In addition, there's that talent show in a month's time too which I'm thinking of entering and-!"

"-Woah hold up! Talent show? You're not just entering that contest because Sasuke is, are you?"

"No!" Sakura retorted with red cheeks. "I've...got something else in mind I want to try…"

"Hn." The red-haired scrunched up her face. "You do you, Sakura."

Ino rubbed the side of her head, wondering herself if she should do the same. Perhaps she and Naruto could do something together? No, the idea was that no one else would ever find out about what she did in secret.

Naruto's been good to me and playing together would be fun, but... She observed the room, thinking about other people's reactions. But, could I really do it, I wonder?

"Hey, Ino! Not falling asleep on me are ya!?" Karin's voice bellowed, snapping Ino out of her daydream.

"Huh? No...I'm good." Ino faked a smile. "Say, what's up with Kabuto? The guy looked a little on edge, and it's not like him to leave class midway through a lesson…"

"Who cares? The guy's always been a weirdo. Probably has issues." Karin spoke rudely.

And as for you Ino, don't play innocent with me! I know that you and Uzumaki are up to something. She thought darkly.

The end of the day came about, with Kiba and Hinata walking to her home together after school.

"Are you sure you don't mind doing this?" He asked with a worried look. "I don't want to impose on you or your family."

"Kiba, don't worry." She replied softly. "I want to help you out where I can. Please, I want to make sure you pass. Besides, it's not like my family will say anything."

That's what I'm afraid of. He thought, biting his lip.

As they approached the front door of her house, the door opened wide and on the other side stood a tall man with chestnut brown hair, wearing a white shirt, black tie, a black jacket with tailcoats with matching black trousers and black shoes.

"Good afternoon, Lady Hinata. How was your day?" Greeted the gentleman.

Kiba stood wide-eyed at the man's appearance. "No way! You have a butler!?" He blurted out.

Hinata giggled. "Yes. Please let me introduce you to Getsumei."

"And whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with? Young master…" Unsure of how to respond, Kiba quickly held out his hand to shake the man's hand.

"Er...Inuzuka. Kiba Inuzuka."

He greeted the boy with a passive expression. "Greetings, young master Inuzuka. Are you by any chance related to Miss Tsume Inuzuka who runs the veterinary clinic in town?"

"Yes, that's my mother's clinic. Do you know her?"

"Not personally," Getsumei replied, his expression remaining stoic. "But her service for my own pets has always been top class and I always recommend her to my friends. I wasn't aware she had children. Apologies, please do come in." He guided them in as Kiba was gobsmacked by what he was seeing. First a big house and now a butler? How well off was this family?

They walked into the living room where the two sat down on a leather sofa with a large coffee table on the side. Kiba's eyes surveyed the room as he noticed a selection of paintings donning the walls, family photos up on the mantlepiece where the fireplace sat and an entertainment system was placed in one corner of the room.

"Would you like anything to drink, Lady Hinata?" Getsumei asked, his hands placed together.

"Green tea please, Getsumei."

"And you, young master Kiba?"

As he wasn't used to being addressed in such a way, he immediately had no clue how to respond. He felt like he had just stepped into a king's palace, fearful of saying the wrong thing in dread of execution.

"Um...I'd like some root beer if you have any…"

The butler promptly raised an eyebrow at his request but nodded in return. "Certainly sir. I'll see if Master Hiashi has any of that stored in the cellar. I'll be back momentarily."

As Getsumei left the room, Hinata turned to Kiba who still had that look of bewilderment on his face.

"Kiba, are you okay?" She inquired. "You look extremely surprised right now…"

He paused with his response. "It's just...well...I...um...you have a butler. What's the deal with that!? He spluttered all at once,

"Oh, Getsumei? That's my father's personal aid. When he's out on business trips, Getsumei looks after the house and takes care of any errands for us." She shuffled her feet on the floor. "As much as I insist on doing things myself, he's always on hand, and he really doesn't like it when I say no."

"So, he's definitely a butler then?"

"I think the word 'butler' is kind of pushing it." She answered. "But yes, he's great to have around." She picked up her satchel and retrieved her books. "Shall we get started then?"

The two began a quiet hour of maths together. Hinata explained the methods and formulas as best she could, with Kiba taking notes and acknowledging what she had to say. In his mind, this hadn't been his ideal method of getting to know her (a proper date out would have been more his thing) but he realised how knowledgeable she was on the subject, which made him respect her even more.

Getsumei came in a second time that hour with a plate of food for the two.

"Some snacks for you both. Please enjoy."

"Thank you."

As both of them reached for a small cake in the middle of the plate, their hands brushed against each other, causing them to pull back and blush in response.

"Uh, you have that one…" Kiba said

"N-no, please, I-I insist…" Hinata stammered, unsure of the situation.

The pair didn't make eye contact which seemed like hours to them but was only mere seconds. Not wanting to last another moment in awkward silence, Kiba spoke up again.

"Please, I'm more of a custard doughnut person myself. Jam and cream don't really do it for me…" He said scratching the back of his head.

Hinata's mouth parted slightly. "Oh, okay then…" She reached for the sweet treat, not before taking notice of his facial features.

Has Kiba always been so...handsome? His eyes are really kind, and the wild hair is kind of a good look for him.

"So, uh…" Kiba continued, "What do you know about solving linear equations?"

The blue-haired girl shook her head as she swallowed the last bit of food.

"Only a little, but I don't think it's going to come up and…" She noticed the boy staring back at her, causing her to turn beetroot. "...what's wrong…" She asked nervously.

"You got a little something on your…" He said gently, reaching over with his finger and wiping the corner of her mouth.

"Eeep!" The girl squeaked, feeling a bit frigid from the touch.

Kiba sat back in his seat. "Oh, sorry I startled you…" He gestured apologetically, noting the red substance on his finger "...Strawberry jam…hehe…"

Great way to play it cool, Kiba!

Hinata's face turned even darker red than it was before. "I...thanks…" She mumbled quietly.

"Excuse me my daughter, but who is this?" Demanded a voice from the other end of the room.

Both teenagers turned to see a gentleman standing in the doorway with long brown hair, lavender eyes and wearing a navy blue suit.

"Father!" Hinata exclaimed in shock.

To be continued…

A/N: Well that was a blast! Thank you again if you managed to make it this far!

Wanted to try out some Kiba and Hinata fluff for a change, which was fun to write, but don't worry we'll be back on the Naruto and Ino hype train next chapter.

The butler, Getsumei, means 'moonlight' which kind of relates to Hinata's name (sun/sunny) and Hiashi (daytime)

Kabuto and Namida are going to go somewhere, without spoiling, you'll have to wait and see! Another Boruto character showed up in this chapter; Wasabi Izuno, who is part of the genin team with Namida in that series. As much as I'm not a fan of Boruto, I can say that with all its characters, it gives me a chance to fill up the story a bit and have them bounce off the main series cast. I turned Wasabi into a bit of a tomboy/goth/punk sort of girl, just the way she looks gives off that sort of vibe especially with the whole cat look going on.

And Karin? I had a question asking, 'shouldn't she be an Uzumaki?' Yes, but plot-wise there's a reason why I haven't revealed her last name. All in good time, dear readers, all in good time… And yes, she's not going to get off scot-free either!

Thank you again for reading. The next chapter will be out around May 31st. Until then, take care and have a good one.