It's hard to believe this story is ten years old. Sure there was a five or six year break in there, but still. Wow. Thanks for reading!
As always, Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.
The house was falling into a new order since returning from Suna with little Shou in hand. Neji had, as expected, been promoted to chuunin, and his ego basked in the well-earned achievement. He wasn't the only one basking, though. No matter their age, Hizashi and Naomi doted on their newborn son like any other parents. Naomi especially soaked up her time with Shou while she could before returning to duty. Even Hyobe appeared pleased by all the changes. Hinata wished his good mood would transfer to her, but his criticisms of her training remained stalwart as ever.
She didn't mind too much, though. Most of his slights were against her weak chakra flow, which was creating difficulties in pushing through to complete the sixty-four points, and Hinata silently took that as a compliment. She'd been forced to strengthen her chakra suppression seals recently and felt proud that they were steadily working even if no one knew. For a while she'd been worried someone would notice her irregular chakra patterns and call her out, but either they expected her weakness or it wasn't yet strong enough to cause suspicion.
That afternoon, Hinata stretched out in preparation for her training session with Hizashi, while the new parents settled Shou down for an outdoor nap. Hinata adored her little brother, and she found that it she understood Neji better since Shou was born. That deep, ingrained need to protect someone smaller, weaker, and who meant so much to her grew stronger each day. Before she'd clung to that protective instinct in Neji, and when she decided to start standing on her own, separating from that had been difficult for her. Now, she appreciated how difficult it was for Neji as well, needing to take care of her the way she felt for Shou. And, like her, Shou was special beyond simply being her brother. The clan might not know it, but he would be the first to receive a new seal, provided she was successful.
No, she had to be successful, for Shou and for the clan. There was no other option, because as hard as it had been to imagine sealing an unseen baby brother before, sealing a living, moving Shou felt impossible. How could she put something on him that could kill him? That let her kill him.
There was still so much she needed to learn though. One wrong move and she could kill him in the process. Perhaps it was time to ask Kurenai to find her a tutor; she could only learn so much on her own. The problem was she couldn't allow anyone outside the clan see the caged bird seal. She may have been brave enough to seal the sealing scroll from her grandfather, but she wasn't foolish enough to let such a protected secret known. How could someone help her if they didn't know what she was trying to do?
Hizashi was moving through basic jyuuken katas to warm up when a loud barking interrupted the quiet afternoon. On the porch, Shou woke unhappily and Naomi picked him up to soothe him.
"Outta the way! Make room!" Kiba screamed from his place atop Akamaru, who was now the size of a pony.
"Kiba-kun, what's wrong?"
"No time to explain," Kiba snapped, yanking her up behind him without warning. Akamaru skidded to a halt and spun around to head back for the village. Almost as an afterthought, Kiba called back to Hizashi and Naomi, "Team Emergency!"
Hinata wrapped her arms around Kiba's waist to keep Akamaru from bucking her at full speed. She doubted the dog was big enough yet to carry two people given the way her legs kept trying to slip back, yet he bounded through the streets without concern or apparent strain.
"Kiba-kun, what's wrong? Did something happen to Shino-kun or Kurenai-sensei?"
"Hold on, we're almost there," he called back, not bothering to acknowledge her question.
Suddenly, Akamaru stopped and crouched down to stay out of sight. Kiba slid off, pulling Hinata with him, and followed Akamaru's example.
"Kiba-kun—"
Kiba cut her off with a sharp shushing noise and dragged her to a small stone wall, no more than three feet high, that separated the street traffic from a nearby café. They'd ended up in the middle of the restaurant district, and Hinata felt silly hiding in plain sight of everyone in the street. Scanning the area, she found no one familiar. No Shino. No Kurenai. Nothing to warrant the unannounced abduction from her home.
"Kiba-kun, what's going on?" she whispered.
"I need you to look into the café with byakugan and tell me what's happening," he said, and when she didn't comply immediately, he carefully pointed to a far corner of the café visible through the window.
If only to appease him, Hinata looked—normally—to see what all the fuss was about. There were mostly couples inside; it was a cute and reasonably priced place, which earned it a reputation with teenagers and young people on a budget. She searched the faces to find out what had riled Kiba up when a shiver ran down her spine. She blinked once. Twice. Then she activated byakugan. All Hinata's shinobi training hadn't prepared her for what she saw.
"Shino-kun's on a date!"
"No!" Kiba yelled in a whispered hiss. "He can't be on a date. That buggy bastard is not allowed to become chuunin and get a girlfriend before me!"
"I'm sorry, Kiba-kun, but she's displaying the signs of attraction and excitement." Shino was harder to read with such subtle changes to him usually, but the flushed face, broad smile, and slight touches the girl offered left little doubt of her intentions.
Kiba scratched and shook his head as though the idea were a flea he could get rid of if he just worked hard enough. "No! I don't believe it. I'm way cooler than him. And I have a dog! Girls love dogs. I refuse to believe he's got a girl before me. Come on, Hinata."
"Kiba-kun!" Hinata tried to stop him, but Kiba was over the wall and inside before she stood up.
The cafe smelled like sweet bread and pastries, not the kind of place Hinata imagined Shino on a date, but then imagining that was tough in general. It wasn't that she didn't think him capable; Shino was as loyal and kind as they come. He was also an acquired taste. It took a long time to dig through the layers of stoic silence and blunt words to understand him as well as she did, and Shino had never mentioned anyone who had accomplished that before. Hinata understood not telling Kiba, but her?
Kiba was already leaning heavily on Shino's shoulder, a roguish smirk charming his face by the time Hinata caught up. "Shino, so this is why you missed practice. Who's this pretty thing here?"
Hinata wasn't sure what she expected from someone who'd date Shino, but this girl seemed far too normal. She appeared to be a civilian and wore a cute blouse tucked into loose pants, which were pushed into the top of her boots. Nothing out of the ordinary that Hinata could see. Of course, Shino's mother was perhaps the kindest and most stereotypical mother of the three of theirs. Perhaps the aloof silence drew in the most normal in an opposites attract way.
The girl sat back, concern dropping the smile from her expression. "Shino-kun, am I making you late? I'm so sorry."
"No, no," Hinata said, an apology softening her eyes. "Remember, Kiba-kun, it was just going to be you and me today." She grabbed Kiba's arm and tried to tug him away from the table, but he pulled out of her grasp easily.
"What's it matter?" Kiba drawled. "We're here now. Aren't you going to introduce us, Shino?"
Shino, who'd been impassive to Kiba's attempts to rile him up, let out a short sigh. For anyone else it may have seemed like nothing, but Hinata knew that meant Shino did not want them there. "I hadn't planned to."
Across the table, the girl laughed. "Come on, Shino-kun. I don't often get to meet shinobi except the Aburame." She waved to each of them, her short brown hair bobbing in the artificial wind. "Nice to meet you, I'm Kiku."
"It's nice to meet you, Kiku-san," Hinata said, hoping to stop Kiba before he made things worse for Shino. "We're Shino-kun's teammates. I'm Hinata and this is—"
"Inuzuka Kiba." Kiba smiled wide enough to show off his slightly fanged teeth and winked.
Kiku's smile faltered so slightly only a Hyuuga would have caught it. "Inuzuka. That means you train dogs, right?"
When he wanted to, Kiba was very good at looking dashing in his own unkempt, rascally way, and right now he was laying on the charm. "Yeah, my partner's outside actually, if you'd like to meet him. He may be big, but Akamaru's still a puppy at heart."
Now Hinata knew he was trying to sabotage Shino; Kiba never admitted Akamaru was anything but a ninja dog.
"No, no," Kiku said quickly, waving her hands in front of her. "I'm not really dog person. They kinda . . . scare me."
"That's why I never introduced you," Shino interjected. It may have been one reason, but Shino kept this glasses close to his eyes, hiding any other lingering deception from Hinata.
Kiba's flirtatious demeanor stalled like a broken clock hand stuck repeating the same second. "You're scared of dogs?"
"Yeah," Kiku continued, unfazed by Kiba's confusion. "I had a lot of bad experiences with big dogs as a kid. I guess that's why I prefer bugs. They're so much smaller and more interesting."
"You like bugs?" Kiba repeated, no longer interacting in the conversation as much as being slowly destroyed by it. Sitting quietly beside him, Shino grinned.
"Yeah, my dad's an entomologist. We run the insect and arachnid preserve a few hours outside the village. We've always done some business with the Aburames, but Shibi-san and Shino-kun come by all the time."
"Mom doesn't allow wild bugs in the house," Shino explained, reminding them that it doesn't take a bug lover to end up with a persistent Aburame. "Dad and I cultivate new species at the preserve."
"I came into the village to deliver the first shadow beetle to mature from the last breeding. We managed to get it rather large this time, too," Kiku said, bringing out a small glass box from the empty chair beside her. Inside was a beetle with blue and green iridescent markings.
Kiba didn't move from his place leaning over Shino, yet he stood deflated, his head hanging low and an air of gloom circling him like a forlorn storm cloud. To save both of her teammates from any further embarrassment, Hinata quickly rounded the two boys and took Kiba by the arm.
"We won't bother you any longer, then. Kiba-kun and I still have training to do."
She tugged him toward the door and this time he didn't resist. From the table, Kiku waved brightly at their departure while Shino merely nodded in acknowledgement. Akamaru was waiting for them outside, his tail wagging happily. Kiba fell against the huge dog as though he could hide away in all that fur.
"She didn't like dogs," he mumbled into Akamaru's chest. "Who doesn't like dogs!"
"I'm sorry, Kiba-kun. Plenty of other girls like dogs," she offered weakly.
Kiba spun around, his face aghast with the horror he felt. "I'll still have gotten a girl after Shino. Shino! He has bugs in his body!"
It was difficult not to defend Shino, because while Hinata sympathized with Kiba's feelings, she was also happy that Shino seemed to be enjoying Kiku's company. Hinata just needed to find a way to cheer Kiba up soon; her overly confident teammate didn't feel the same so dejected.
"Come on, Kiba-kun. I have an idea," Hinata said, pulling Kiba away from Akamaru long enough for the dog to get to his feet.
After much cajoling and numerous screaming questions about the nature of the universe and how someone as amazing as him could lose to Shino more than once, Kiba finally allowed Hinata to usher him onto Akamaru. Activating byakugan, Hinata searched for the perfect spot to brighten her friend's mood.
She smiled. "Come on, Akamaru."
If there was one thing Hinata had learned being surrounded by so many boys with egos worthy of the hokage, it was how best to make them happy in quick order. A little stroking here and there kept Kiba and Shino from forgetting they were friends as well as rivals. Kiba needed it more so than Shino, though Hinata always knew when she'd focused too much on Kiba. If Shino didn't get his due attention, he got downright grumpy and never let her forget it.
For now, Hinata ran alongside Akamaru, leading him toward the residential districts, all the while scanning the area with byakugan to make sure her targets didn't leave. Hopefully they would make it there before Kiba made it through his ranting despair and angry denial made him turn around to challenge Shino to a fight. Sometimes playing the mediator between them got tedious.
Hinata directed Akamaru to a medium-sized park not too far from Kiba's house. A few kids of varying ages played on the equipment nearby, but Hinata wasn't concerned with them. Near the edge of the park sat a group of teenage girls, civilians by their low chakra levels, eating away at some popsicles on the warm afternoon.
"What're we doing here, Hinata?" Kiba muttered as he dismounted from Akamaru.
"Trust me." Hinata motioned for Akamaru to roll over, which the big dog obediently accomplished, and knelt down to scratch his oversized chest. In a loud, excessively high-pitched voice, Hinata called out. "What a wonderful dog! He's so fluffy!"
Joining in the game, or maybe enjoying the attention, Akamaru wagged his tail and pawed playfully in the air. On cue, the three girls craned their necks in their direction to search for the commotion. Hinata watched them conversing and pointing at Akamaru before finally getting up to come closer.
"Is that your dog?" the leader of the trio asked: a perky, brunette who showed just enough skin to entice any passing male while still appearing modest. "I've never seen one grow that big before."
Watching Akamaru reduced to a playful puppy in Hinata's grasp didn't improve Kiba's mood, but the arrival of pretty girls changed his scowl to a wicked smirk. The excitement brightened his demeanor as he took in the revealing pink sweater and skin-tight pants. He really was easy to make happy when a person knew how; he was a guy.
"This one here's mine. Say hello, Akamaru." Kiba winked at the girls as Akamaru rolled back over and barked at the girls.
"Can I pet him? Will he bite?" asked another. She wore a flowing flower dress that blew a little too high in the wind at times.
Kiba's eyes were as canine as Akamaru's and they both reveled in the newfound attention. "Akamaru's a ninja dog, but he'd never hurt a beautiful woman, so the three of you are safe."
Hinata slowly backed out of sight to let the girls have plenty of access to Akamaru and Kiba. The truth that her teammate ignored was that he was too much of a flirt to settle down, but so long as she reminded him of that every once in a while, he should get over Shino's friend or girlfriend or whatever she was soon enough.
A true team emergency or not, Hinata was glad Kiba dragged her away from practice today. Shino got to (mostly) enjoy his day out with Kiku, and Kiba had gotten over it as quickly as he does once more alluring distractions drew his eye. And Hinata . . . well, she simply enjoyed spending time with her team, as strange as they were sometimes. She couldn't help but feel a bit sore that Shino hadn't bothered to tell her about his friend, but they all had secrets they wanted to keep their own. The only reason either of them knew about her crush on Naruto was due to her dreadful ability to hide it when he was around. Or mentioned. Or thought about him.
Hinata sighed. Almost a year without word of Naruto and she still got flustered thinking back. When did normal people get over these kinds of feelings? Hinata looked over at Kiba, who was surrounded by the three young women cooing over Akamaru; he seemed to get over girls the minute he turned his head to a new one, so Kiba probably wasn't the best to ask. Maybe Shino would understand after all.
Suddenly, Akamaru's ears drooped low against the side of his head and he lowered his body to the ground. Next to him Kiba stilled. "Oh shit."
Hinata was about to ask what was the matter when a swell of malicious chakra reached her senses, growing out like a swirling tornado reaching for the ground. The source stood on the other side of the street, feral eyes locked on boy and dog alike as lips curled back to reveal a fanged scowl. Ninja moms were scary in general, but the canine aspects of the Inuzukas made Tsume the most frightening one of all. At her side, Kuromaru's head dipped as he snarled and contracted his body in preparation to run.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Tsume howled. "Inuzuka dogs aren't damn pets, you idiot!"
"Sorry, girls, gotta run." As fast as Kiba said it, Akamaru was on his feet and helping his partner up on this back. "Come on, Hinata!"
Akamaru barreled past and Kiba threw his arm down for her to take. Well, her afternoon started by getting swept off her feet, it might as well end that way, too.