She was running late.
Oh, what a way to start the day.
Rubber soles slapped the dusty pavements of Konoha, the sun slightly rising from the horizon.
Vendors began to set up their shops; eateries preparing plates and utensils, and chairs were unfolded and removed from its stacks to be placed before tables. The crisp air was filling with freshly cooked meals to start the morning menu, while women walked past stalls to grab their daily ingredients.
It was a normal day.
But not for a certain Hyuga. She was a purple blur to passerbys. Her long hair flew behind her as she ran towards the agreed meeting area.
She was late.
Hinata's backpack jumped as she bounded through the slightly bustling streets of Konoha, with a duffle bag swinging dangerously in her left hand.
The girls, namely Ino and Sakura, wanted to go to Suna for a spa and beach day. It was a perfect plan, with the transportation provided by Inoichi. Ino's father would drive them to Suna, drop them off at the hotel and pick them up the next day.
Hinata's father was pensive about this predicament, not that he didn't trust Inoichi. The Yamanaka man was a Navy Officer, a very strict one at that. Still, Hiashi wasn't one to be swayed easily. He had issues. But he gave in, after a bit of persuasion from his nephew and younger daughter.
However, Hiashi didn't miss the chance to make sure Hinata learned discipline and maturity. He maybe one of the richest men in Konoha, what with their impeccable security agency, but after a series of life changing situations, Hiashi realized he can't lock his children up forever.
And so, Hinata was not to be provided transportation if ever she decides to sleep in. Which she undoubtedly did.
Last night was hectic! The girls decided to drop by her home and raid her closet for heaven's sake! Thank goodness TenTen-san was sane and managed to minimize the time the other two spent on fussing over Hinata and what clothes she should bring/wear.
She woke up, drowsy and dishevelled, to a slightly disappointed yet amused Neji and a grinning Hanabi looming over her.
She knew she was doomed.
"Oh no!" Hinata threw her covers off of her and made a bee line towards her bathroom. She failed to see the fist bump her sister and her cousin did.
"You owe me, Neji-san. Told you she'd wake up really late." a sweet voice, with a hint of pride, whispered to the taller man as they heard a squeal come from behind the bathroom door. Hinata must have dropped her shampoo bottle in her haste.
"No, Hanabi-chan. I believe you owe me. I specifically said she'd wake up an hour after Uncle left. Uncle left at 7:00, it's 8:00. You said she'd wake up at 9:00." The smirk grew on Neji's face. His arms were crossed over his chest, and the hand nearest to Hanabi wiggled its fingers as if to say "give it".
Hanabi grumbled.
Hinata emerged from the bathroom wearing white jeans and a purple button up blouse with long sleeves folded at the elbows. Lucky for her, she already packed her bags which weren't much. A backpack and a duffle bag full of her necessities. And then the rest of the space was saved for the gifts and items she'd buy in her short stay in Suna for her family.
As she rushed down the stairs, she saw an annoyed Hanabi glaring across the table at a calm but obviously smug Neji who was reading a book.
"Uncle said to be safe and enjoy, but next time you're late, you're not leaving the house." Neji called out, not looking up from his book. Hanabi was still glaring at him, then when she was about to bid her sister farewell another idea popped into mind.
"And tell TenTen-chan to bring Neji-san a gift! A really pretty one! Something like those silky conditioner he always use!"
"Okay! Bye, love you both and take care!"
Hinata was out of the house before she could even see the usually stoic Neji drop his jaw at Hanabi.
And so, Hinata ran. They were to meet at Ino's house. She recalled being invited to spend the night over at her place to easily leave the for the next day. Hinata declined, of course.
She regrets doing so.
She lived at the finer parts of Konoha, a secluded area for the rich. It was located at the other end.
She had to grab a bus, which was at the gates of the finer estates, and had to wait for a full twenty minutes. The bus arrives every half of the hour.
The ride was long, going to the quiet suburbs where her friend lived. It stopped at a busier street, not really near the houses.
From there she began to run.
On the ride, Hinata made a quick text that she'll be late for maybe a few minutes. She got a reply saying it's fine, and they'll leave by 9:45, strictly of course. Inoichi wouldn't have it any other way.
Hinata was out of the street market in record time, sweat sliding down her forehead and her back.
'At this rate, I'll be there in fifteen minutes!' Hinata thought as she zipped past a ramen house. 'Oh darn, I'll smell like sweat and food once I get there,' she realized with a grimace. 'No matter, I'll just...uh...spritz a bit of perfume and besides, we'll be at the beach so I'll be fine.'
Her legs were burning, but she was more than thankful that she chose to wear her running shoes instead of the matching white sandals. Hinata was also thankful for the precautionary trainings her father made sure she joined in; it really tested her endurance and strength and boy, was it coming in handy.
But her agility and reflexes were another matter all together.
A huge purely white blur was racing towards her, and Hinata side stepped just in time to avoid it. She noticed the white blur was on all fours and had a tail, but before she could actually comprehend that she nearly collided with a large white dog, she crashed into something with a yelp.
Her grip on her duffle bag loosened as she landed on the floor, her face firmly pressed to something solid but soft.
With a thud, Hinata felt a vibration against her cheek. Her eyes were shut tight, first at pure instinct then out of embarrassment. She was Hinata Hyuga of course. She was clumsy.
And, being the clumsy Hinata Hyuga, her day wouldn't be complete without her tripping over her own feet or slipping.
For today's menu, Hinata's clumsiness made sure she crashed into someone on her way to a friend's house under a tight schedule.
From what Hinata could tell, the body she collided with was male. 'Oh no...' Hinata groaned. This was not her day. As she started to fumble her hands to find solid ground, and not his surprisingly fit shoulders, Hinata felt something sniff at her neck.
This caused her to jump and squeal, applying more force than necessary to the person below her. Hinata immediately rolled over to the side, and clamped a hand behind her neck.
That's when she saw the huge white blur that almost hit her with full force at the speed it was going. It was a dog.
A really big dog, that is.
Said dog was hunched over the body Hinata was on top of not long ago, its snout buried in a head of spiky brown. Hinata blinked at that. The dog then brought its snout over the face of the boy, and licked it.
The boy groaned. Suddenly a hand came to halt the dog from its obvious show of affection and pushed the dog's head off his own. He slowly sat up, eyes shut really tight. And then, Hinata's eyes grew wide.
The boy was no older than she was...
...and was vaguely familiar.
He was clad in a gray leather jacket with a white shirt under it. He wore dark jeans and boots to match. He was currently wiping the saliva off his face with the sleeve of his leather jacket.
"Damn it, Akamaru. This is leather! This'll take more than an hour..." The boy grumbled. The dog instead barked happily at what Hinata assumed to be his master.
"Get off me you big butt! Off!" The boy pushed the dog, albeit playfully. The named Akamaru restrained the pushes of his master and aimed to lick his hands. "No! Akamaru! Come on boy, I need to get up! Akamaru!" Akamaru did move away, his tail wagging enthusiastically.
Hinata watched the exchange and found it adorable, completely ignoring the fact that she was going to be really, really late.
The boy stood and Hinata then took it to account that he was also tall. She was so absorbed in examining the already standing boy that she failed to notice her own little predicament; sitting on the pavement, her duffle bag on the other side of the boy.
Her head was tilted to the side, as she eyed the boy. He was really familiar. It's like she's seen him somewhere.
'I have seen him somewhere...' Hinata mused. '...just where?' Hinata thought really hard about this, wracking her brain for some sort of memory of said boy.
As if reading her thoughts, said male turned to his right where Hinata was still seated and was shocked to see her pale lavender eyes focused on his boots.
"Uh..." The boy mumbled. That broke Hinata from her reverie. And then, as if punched, Hinata remembered her meet up. Hinata's eyes grew wide as she started to scramble and fidget, clearly unsure on what to do. As she turned her head to both sides, a hand then was placed in front of her. Hinata blushed as she looked up to the owner of the hand.
Chocolate met lavender. His eyebrows shot straight to his hairline. 'I've seen those eyes before...' Hinata mused. The brown was very dark, but held a strange warmth in them.
"Need any help?" A deep, rough voice called from above her. Hinata felt the blood rush to her pale cheeks and gaped at the boy. His fingers wiggled just a bit and Hinata tentatively placed her own over his calloused palm.
As he pulled her up, Akamaru sniffed Hinata's feet immediately shocking her, and causing her to press herself against her helper.
Akamaru seemed to take a liking towards Hinata, but she was too scared and shy that she kept pushing herself to the boy not noticing her tightening grip on his fingers.
"U-uh...p-please s-s-stop...eek!" Akamaru rubbed his head against her knees, which then caused the crown of her head to hit the chin of the dog's master.
"Ow!"
"Oh no! I-I'm so s-sorry! I-I didn't m-m-mean to!" Hinata took a step back, still holding on to the boy's hand. Apparently, Akamaru was still behind her and she in turn almost fell over him. Hinata turned to face the dog to see if she landed any harm on the white furball, but was greeted with a sloppy smile. Hinata smiled at the action.
Then he barked and started to jump around them. Hinata followed Akamaru's every movement with a giggle. That was when her face once again collided with something solid.
'If Neji saw me now...' Hinata inwardly groaned. The hand that Hinata held on to earlier slipped from her grip. She felt two large hands gently place themselves on her shoulder and pulled her away.
"You've been doing that a lot, hitting me, I mean." There was a hint of teasing in the boy's voice making Hinata blush harder. She looked up and there it was again. The friendly chocolate eyes. That's when Hinata noticed the red streaks on his cheek, that sort of resembled fangs.
'Cute,' Hinata thought.
"Hello? Yohoo? Is anyone in there?" Hinata was slow to see that the boy had bent himself to her height and was now right in her face.
'Too close! Too close! Oh no! This is embarrassing! What did I do! What do I do!' Hinata felt her mouth open and close at the close proximity of the boy. He was staring at her with laughter in his eyes, and a big grin on his lips. His head was tilted to the side as he waited for her to reply.
"Oh. Um, are you okay? Are you sick or something? Did you hit your head? Your face...it's uh...it's burning." The boy asked. Hinata immediately slapped her hands to her cheeks, and indeed he was right. They were burning. Hinata buried her face in her hands as she took a step back from the boy. His firm grip on her shoulder loosened as he stared at her quizzically.
Hinata took deep breaths behind her palms. 'What is wrong with me today!' Oh she really regrets sleeping in. After her fifth inhale, she pulled her hands from her face and placed them on her sides. Without looking at him, she lowered her body to a bow.
"F-forgive m-me!" Hinata inwardly groaned. She really hates her stuttering. It made her sound insincere!
Then she heard a chuckle. A deep one that made her blush for whatever reason.
Hinata straightened up, her hands beginning to fidget among itself. She watched the boy shake his head, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
"Please," He smiled. "It's alright. It's really my fault, I always forget to put a leash on Akamaru. Not to mention there's a beef jerky sale today, so you can pretty much guess that this big goofball's pretty excited. Really, I should be the one apologizing to you." He flashed her a bashful grin and Hinata felt her insides squirm.
Hinata clasped her hands together then looked the other way.
"N-no. It's m-my fault. I was r-running l-l-late a-and I w-wasn't watching, oh um...a-and...uh...it's r-really my f-fault." Hinata tried her best to make sure her voice came out louder than her usual whisper. Her family always told her to speak up because it's rude to mumble.
The grin left the boy's lips and Hinata realized he was cuter with a smile on his face. At that sudden thought, her cheeks flared up once more.
"Nah, it's our fault really."
Hinata was about to protest that it was, when she saw the boy smirk at her. 'That also suits him,' a small voice snaked its way into her mind. She was really getting tired of her brain saying things about this stranger. She embarrassed herself and yet her mind kept going over the boy's mischievous but handsome features.
'Focus Hinata!' She berated herself once more.
"How about, we both just admit it's both our faults? How's that sound?" The boy asked.
Hinata looked at him, her red cheeks slowly paling. 'Well, that's one way...'
"B-but, a-are you sure? I-I mean, I-I crashed o-onto y-you pre-pretty hard." Hinata said.
"Yeah, it was. But it's not something I'm not used to, and Akamaru here is heavier and faster than you." He patted the canine's head who responded with a happy bark.
Silence fell onto both of them. But it was neither awkward or tensed. It was just, calming. The boy patted Akamaru's head a affectionately and Hinata watched the whole exchange with a smile.
And then the moment broke when Hinata's phone rang.
Both parties jumped (Hinata much higher). Hinata reached into her backpack and saw the caller ID on the screen on her phone.
It was Ino.
'Darn it!' Hinata started to mutter incoherent words. Hinata was obviously nervous, so she accidentally pressed "end call".
Great.
She raised her head to see the boy raising an eyebrow at her; as if to say "Not going to pick that up?"
Hinata sighed and shook her head.
Both brows rose then.
That's when the awkward silence entered. Great timing.
Hinata suddenly shifted on her feet; unsure if she should stay and chat a bit more, maybe apologize or bid the boy and dog farewell and run again to the Yamanakas home.
Luckily she didn't have to decide.
"So, it seems to me that you need to go somewhere." Hinata let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding and nodded timidly. "Yeah, m-my f-friend..u-uh... Sh-she-" Before Hinata could finish the boy once again smiled at her.
"I get it. No worries." He then turned around and bent to retrieve her fallen duffle bag. "I believe this belongs to you miss...?" He stared at her expectantly.
"Oh! I-I'm H-Hinata."
"Hello Hinata, I'm Kiba. And this furball that caused us all the trouble is Akamaru." Akamaru barked at her and jumped. His paws then planted themselves on her stomach, pushing her slightly back.
She then heard laughter. "Looks like Akamaru's taking a liking to you, Hinata." She saw the fond smile of Kiba that was directed to his dog. Her insides melted.
That's when Hinata remembered that he still held her duffle bag. She made a reach towards it, and gently pried it off his hand. In doing so, their knuckles brushed enticing sparks.
Hinata knew she was turning scarlet.
"A-again, I-I'm s-sorry. Yo-you must be li-livid with m-me." Hinata mumbled. She couldn't help it.
"Livid? That's a pretty deep word. I'm not, really. The sale will still be there, and I already have an inkling idea that my older sister Hana already went out and bought some." He flashed her one of his heart melting smiles.
"Like I said, it's my fault. Akamaru and I must be keeping you away too long. Let's make it up to you, for keeping you late. Soon. But for now," Kiba walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders once more. He then stirred her to the other direction of the street. "You need to go somewhere. How about we meet here again when you're done with what you're supposed to do, and say I take you out for breakfast sometime? I ruined your white pants and purple shirt."
"Breakfast doesn't really pay for much, unless it's free and it's to brighten the morning. So, how about on Saturday? Let's meet up here, say 9:00?" He said in her ear.
At this close contact, Hinata could be mistaken as a ripe tomato. "Y-yeah. Um, t-that's a-actually f-fine." She managed to say. In truth, she didn't know what to say.
'Is he asking me out on a date? Is this a prank? He's just nice, I'm sure! He must have a girlfriend!' These thoughts ran a mile in her head. That's when he gently pushed her forward.
"Well, Miss Hinata. I'll see you around! And you better hurry up, if you don't want your friends to worry." His voice was teasing, but sincere. Hinata turned her head to face him and saw that he was grinning at her. Hinata swallowed thickly, and waved shyly back.
"S-see y-you t-too, Kiba-kun!" At that, she made a dash towards Ino's home, which by the looks of it, was six blocks away from here. Oh, Kami.
Hinata arrived at the Yamanaka's a minute before 9:45. Sakura and TenTen were already boarding the van, except for Ino who looked to be typing in her phone.
That's when Hinata's phone rang.
"Wait! Please!" Hinata shouted even though her lungs were blazing. Ino turned to the direction of the voice and immediately smiled at the sight of Hinata.
"There you are!" As soon as Hinata was a foot away from the car. "You dropped the call, Hinata. Why's that?" Ino asked. Hinata clutched her knees and panted for air.
"Uh, answer me that later. Come on, let's get you in the car. Daddy! Hinata's here!"
Ino pulled the backpack off Hinata's back and grabbed the duffle bag. She gave them to her father, who just got out of the house. As soon as the bags were in place, and all the girls were settled in, Inoichi started the car and drove out.
In the car, Ino sat next to her driving father while the three girls cramped in the back, with Hinata in the middle. They were already out of the city of Konoha, and was passing by numerous trees that were littered near the outskirts of her home.
Hinata noticed that among all of them, she looked dirty for a lack of a better term. She hoped no one noticed.
"Hinata, what happened to your white jeans? It's all covered in dirt!" Sakura exclaimed.
Darn.
"Oh, I-I tripped on t-the way here!" She stammered. TenTen raised an eyebrow at her. "You tripped? Okay. But that doesn't explain why there's muddy paw prints at the base of your purple blouse." TenTen pointed out.
'No wonder Neji-san took a great liking to TenTen-chan.'
Hinata tried to find the most suitable words to cover up, but not entirely lie about the whole thing. When she final did, Ino beat her to it with a question she would rather not answer.
"By the way, why did you drop the call? You never do that unless you're really busy." Ino didn't bother to look behind her, because Sakura already did the job of probing her with a stare.
"I...well...y-you s-see..." Hinata was tongue tied. How was she supposed to explain the whole Dog-Boy-Crash thing!?
"Come on, Hinata. You can tell us anything. And none of this will reach Neji or your dad." At this, Ino eyed her father who sighed. "Yes, Hinata. I will not tell your dad of...this conversation." Ino beamed at her father who slumped further to the steering wheel.
So she told the story. When she had finished, Hinata began to wrung her hands and blush. It was embarrassing after all.
The van was silent for a whole minute, giving the atmosphere a pregnant tension. Hinata was always clumsy, so why did it seem like a big deal that she crashed into a boy?
'A really cute and funny boy, at that' whispered a voice in her head. Hinata frowned. She met Kiba once, in the most embarrassing way possible too!
But something nagged at the back of her mind that the boy was familiar.
TenTen was the first to break the silence. "You said his name was Kiba, right?" Hinata nodded. "And he has a white dog? Akamaru?" Hinata nodded once more.
"He's my neighbor." TenTen said. She then leaned her cheek against the window, closing her eyes in the process. "He's in your year level, too. He'll be attending Konoha Public High School along with you girls in the fall."
Hinata's eyes grew wide at that. Yes, she was transferring to the public school her older cousin was attending (now he'll be a sophomore) due to disciplinary methods. What better way than to be a better heiress if she can't get along with the people who will work for her? Not to mention her long time classmate Shino Aburame will also transfer to said school for a better chance at a scholarship.
Konoha Public High is known for its graduating students that gain scholarships in the Kage University. So it's basically a win-win for everyone.
"Oh, really TenTen? How'd you know about this?" Sakura asked.
"Well, he was there when Neji brought Hinata to take the exams during the middle of summer. Since I've been in Konoha Public school since elementary and middle school, they asked me along with Rock Lee to supervise the students who will be entering high school." TenTen then faced Hinata with a curious stare.
"Don't you recognize him? You two were in the same examination area. I believe he was three seats away from you. His last name starts with an "I" And yours is "H". Don't you remember?"
Oh.
Oh.
Yes, she did. He was the one who entered at the same time with her; their shoulders bumped at the entrance and he took a step back and made a gesture for her to go first. After that, they didn't make any other form of acknowledgement.
"Y-yeah. I-I remember n-now." Hinata mumbled. For some reason, she felt bad. But she didn't know why.
"Hey, look on the bright side, Hinata. You'll see him at school when fall starts and who knows? Maybe one date will turn to two, then three, then fo-" Sakura was caught off when Hinata's jaw dropped.
"D-date? W-who s-said t-th-there's a d-d-date?"
"Well, didn't he ask you to meet up with him next Saturday for breakfast right? It's a date, Hinata." Ino said in a tone of matter-of-fact.
"Aww, Hinata's got a date!" Sakura cooed.
"I wonder how Mr. Hiashi will take this, better yet, how Neji will." TenTen snickered.
"N-no! It-it's not a d-date!" Hinata argued but even to her, it felt weak. Because in truth, she really hoped it was.
"Nonsense. It's a date, and you better not be late. He said 9:00 right? Too early for my tastes, but it is breakfast so you better set an alarm, girl." Ino stated.
'Oh what have I gotten myself into?' Hinata mentally slapped herself. It's not that she didn't want to go, quite the opposite really. But what if she was late all over again? Oh darn, she didn't want to think about this now. She had three days before the said "date" anyways.
Hinata leaned back into her seat as Ino and Sakura began to talk about dating and boyfriends, in spite of the presence of Inoichi (who was grumbling; but added his own very helpful insights).
Once the girls were dropped off and settled in the hotel, they began to prepare themselves for the beach. Hinata took the much appreciated shower and changed into softer and comfortable clothes. From her jeans and blouse, she came out wearing a lavender sun dress and decided to wear those white sandals.
When all girls were dressed, they decided to take a walk from the hotel to the beach, which wasn't that far. They passed by boutiques, stalls and stores.
One particular convenience store caught the attention of the Hyuga Heiress. She grabbed onto TenTen's elbow, told them she'll just buy a few drinks and chips from the store. The older girl nodded and informed the others as Hinata entered the store.
A few minutes later she emerged carrying two bags full of drinks and snacks for everyone at the beach.
Once their little beach day was done, they took a little rest at their two bed hotel room. The girls didn't mind sharing a bed with the other of course.
While Ino hogged the bathroom to get 'rid of the sand', Sakura made reservations for the spa treatment complete with the hot bath. TenTen flipped through the channels, lying lazily on the floor eating the other chips that weren't opened at the beach.
Hinata, on the other hand, was already fixing her bag. TenTen noticed this, and stalked towards the timid girl.
"Hey Hinata! Whatcha got there?" TenTen's hands were on her knees as she looked down at the bag of...
...beef jerky in the hands of Hinata.
"Beef jerky?" TenTen asked incredulously. Hinata nodded, a light blush on her cheeks.
"It's for...um...K-Kiba." Her cheeks flushed darker and TenTen needed no more words from the girl. Instead she patted her head and went back to lounging by the TV.
Hinata bought four beef jerky packs, in different flavors. She hoped to give it to Kiba and Akamaru on Saturday to repay their lost chance of buying some.
She didn't notice that she was smiling warmly at the packs, but TenTen did. The older girl chuckled and returned her attention to the TV.
'Neji's going to get a fit when he finds out about this' TenTen smirked. She wouldn't tell Neji, but she knew he'll find out sooner or later.
All in all, Hinata's day ended up nice. The sky here in Suna was clear and maybe the air was humid, but the Hyuga was too happy to notice the stuffy temperature of it all.
She did, after all, been through "worse" not long ago in Suna.
It just became better when a certain Dog Lover offered to repay her via date.
It was a nice day, after all.