I love Naruto, and I have grown to appreciate the mythos and characters Masashi Kishimoto has written. Plus, I like crack ships; the one couple I thought would have made a fun ship was Kabuto Yakushi (yes, him) and Hinata Hyuga. I wanted to challenge myself, so I have begun writing An Unexpected Love, and I hope to finish this story before 2023. Please review and critique (no flames please!).

Note: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto and all of the characters in this fic except my O/C's.

Hinata Hyuga is part of Team Eight with the loud and boisterous Kiba Inuzuka and his dog companion Akamaru, the mysterious Shino Aburame, the ever-loyal Akane Itsuki (OC) and their Jonin Leader Kurenai Yuhi. Together they uncover a sinister plot brewing within the walls of Konoha, and their faiths get tested by the everchanging world. What will become of their relationships, and will Team Eight ever be the same? (Eventual Kabuto x Hinata)

Prologue

The first time they met, she had a sprained ankle, and hot tears were streaming down her face unabetted. Hinata was seated on the examination table, and she tried hard not to make more fuss as Dr Yakushi's soft hands squeezed an angry red sprain.

"Father, Nurse Aqua wants you downstairs. The soldiers that had gone to the morning expedition have come back severely injured." The fourteen-year-old young man announced with his head bowed down as a sign of respect for the Chief Medical Officer of Konoha General Hospital. Hinata's breath hitched in her throat as she slowly digested the words that came out of the man's mouth.

"Mmmh, thank you, Kabuto." Dr Yakushi sighed heavily, and he turned his kind eyes to his patient, "Hinata, dear, do you mind if I leave you in the capable hands of my son over here?"

Hinata fearfully looked over at the said person, and she noticed his dark eyes regarding her in interest. She quickly darted her gaze to a cat poster plastered in the corner of the room, and she nodded her head, not trusting her voice to come out not sounding scared. Dr Yakushi smiled fondly at her bashfulness, and he petted her head (this caused Hinata's cheeks to brighten up) and briskly walked out of the room.

With practised care, Kabuto lightly took the little girl's ankle in his hand and assessed the damage. He internally cringed. It had swelled to the point that he could press on the area with his finger and leave an indent. He wondered how she had gotten hurt, but he did not want to overstep his boundary.

"My name is Kabuto. What is yours?" He said with an air of cheerfulness.

"H…Hinata." She hiccuped and answered.

"You're part of the Hyuga clan, right?" he asked through a sudden cough, startling her. "We hardly see any of your family. Here, or anywhere else."

She made an unintelligible noise down in her throat, and she fervently hoped that he would take it as an answer and work in silence. Instead, he incessantly started to chat about his dreary medical training with his father. Kabuto supposed it was working because the sniffing had stopped, and she had found the courage to look at the top of his head. He gave a small smile, and he continued to narrate an encounter with a patient who was afraid of injections.

After her mother died from a disease which arose from the complicated birth of her sister, Hanabi, Hinata wanted to become a medical-nin. However, her clan was inflexible to the whims of the young heiress. Though her father gave a long history of her family's lineage as the genius of war strategies and trade and that future generations of Hyuga had to follow up, this did not stop her from dreaming of donning Konoha General's work uniform. As Kabuto talked, Hinata's eight-year-old self-regarded the older boy as an adult who had experienced all the pleasures of life, and she became enamoured with him.

"Here, all done!" He exclaimed as he looked at his handiwork. The angry red marks had been smoothed over and were now a pale pink. There was now a bandage neatly wrapped around her ankle, and it did not hurt to walk anymore.

"T…t…" Hinata stuttered so bad that he placed a hand on her shoulder. He seemed to make her more nervous.

"It's okay close your eyes and take a deep breath." His words were gentle. She closed her eyes; she took a deep breath.

"Okay now let it out slowly." Following his command, she let it out, and she re-opened her eyes.

"Thank you, Kabuto." She finally said with a soft voice too quiet that he almost did not hear.

"You're welcome. Please wait in the lobby. I'll ask one of the nurses to call your family to fetch you." He replied pleasantly, and he was startled when her tiny body pressed up against his as she gave him a side hug. The brief contact lasted for two seconds before she ran out of the room to the lobby room. He chuckled. "What a strange girl."

Later, her ankle finished, and she sat in the waiting room, where someone from the family would come to pick her up. A quiet noise behind her made her turn, and she saw the boy from before watching her from the deep shadow cast by the doorway.

"Oh," he said when he saw her looking, apparently just catching on that he had been spotted by her. "Father sent me to see if you needed anything else."

"No, thank you," she whispered. Her fingers twirled together in her lap as she fought the urge to run away and find a dark spot in which to hide. He came around to her and knelt, his body just out of arm's reach, looking up into her eyes. Behind the glasses, his eyes held warmth and something like life in his gaze.

"You're a little shy, aren't you?" he said kindly. "Do not be. You have such pretty eyes.

She felt herself go red under his direct stare; before she could answer, an older person's voice cut her off.

"Hinata, it's time to go." The imposing figure of her father came into view.

"Y… yes, thank you again Kabuto!" She squeaked and walked quickly to her father's, Hiashi Hyuga's, waiting form.

"Hello, Sir Hyuga. My name is Kabuto Yakushi, and I helped heal Hinata's injury today." Kabuto chirped in after Hinata formally greeted her father. Hiashi glanced at the boy standing in front of him. There was nothing remarkable about him. He had a long mop of grey hair tied back into a neat ponytail and a face which exuded childish innocence because of its roundness. His black-rimmed circular glasses protected his dark eyes. But Hiashi could tell there was something funny with this boy's eyes; they looked like glass, like a doll's, with no life behind them.

"It's true, father. He is a skilled medical-nin." He heard the whispery voice of Hinata state. Hiashi then regarded his daughter. Though she fiddled with the ends of her jacket's hem (a nervous tick he had yet to get rid of), she had not stammered over her words. Her pupilless lavender eyes might have looked the same; however, Hiashi noted the hidden tenderness she had towards the boy. Hinata wore her emotions on her sleeve. He averted his gaze back to the boy and saw him give his eldest daughter an easy smile, and the Hyuga patriarch decided he didn't like him.

"Thank you, and please send my gratitude to your father." Hiashi gruffly responded. Hearing this, Kabuto puffed out his chest, and he beamed brightly at him.

Hiashi briskly walked out the doors with his daughter's warm hand tucked inside of his, and he silently hoped he wouldn't see the young man's face again.