Inuzuka Kiba; 7 Years Later

Age 19

-Some Mix Ups-

Two years. Two LONG years and we were finally returning to Konoha! I don't think I could have been able to stay up there for a third year but luckily, this time around, Naruto, Chouji and I had been able to pass Gai's challenge with NO problem!

"I don't want to carry you anymore!" I heard Mamemaru whine from my side. I looked down to see that Akamaru was riding on top of her.

"You'll carry me and like it!" Akamaru said. He had been getting kind of old and senile lately so I decided to relieve her from carrying duty and do that myself.

"This chuunin exam will be no problem this time around!" I announced to Akamaru and Mamemaru.

"Yeah, I know!" said Naruto as if I was talking to him. "I am SO ready for it!"

"Do you think we'll be able to pass?" Chouji asked me. I craned my neck to look at him. He was much taller than me.

Much wider too.

"Of course we will!" I told him as I repressed the urge to smack him.

The three of us walked through the streets of Konoha. We were catching up together and wanted to go visit some people to see how much they missed us.

Bet they missed us a lot.

I smelled a few familiar smells in the air. At least, I THINK they were familiar because I hadn't smelled them for a while.

One of them, though, I definitely recognized.

"Sakura!" I heard Naruto yell next to me a little louder than he needed to. Sakura looked up. I don't know what she had been doing. Maybe she was looking in the window of some store. I don't know. Hinata was with her though.

"Naruto?" she questioned, looking up. We got closer and the two girls smiled at us and turned to us. "So you're finally back?"

"Welcome back…" Hinata said quietly with an almost giddy smile. I kind of wish Sakura wasn't there right now. Naruto and Chouji can be there because they're my pals. Same with Akamaru. Mamemaru would have to leave because she's a girl though.

Her eyes looked up at Chouji who, while his size had become a regular thing that Naruto and I saw everyday, was much larger than he had been before we left.

She chose not to comment on him.

"Kiba?" Sakura asked me, looking away from Chouji and right at me. "Is that you?"

I nodded at her.

"Who else would it be?" I asked her. Sakura looked like she was stuttering for a second. I felt a little insulted that she didn't remember me.

"I was so worried about you Kiba…" Hinata said, blushing. I was proud of myself for picking up on the fact that she was blushing.

Over the past year or some, my two teammates, Naruto and Chouji have clued me in that I am quite the handsome one.

I knew that. I didn't need them to tell me that.

However, they pointed out many instances of girls trying to get my attention when I hadn't noticed so I had somewhat honed my skills to the art of extremely ambiguous girl anecdotes.

"Hinata…" I started, going into deep thought. I had rehearsed what to say to her when I got back a million times but because SAKURA was there, I couldn't say it.

"Yeah Kiba?" Hinata started. I looked at her. I wasn't wrong in the mountains. I missed her a lot.

Two years away from her only made me like her more and more until I realized that I loved her. However, I wasn't sure if it was real love because she hadn't been there.

Now that she was there in front of me, I was sure that my feelings were right.

Sakura started whispering to Hinata and, rather than listening to them, I turned to Naruto and Chouji.

"So what do you think?" Naruto asked. "Should I ask Sakura out on a date now or wait for her to ask me?"

"What if she doesn't ask you?" Chouji asked.

"Oh come on…" Naruto said. "I've been gone for two years! She probably misses me so much!"

"I'm going to ask Hinata out." I said bluntly. I wanted to get it out in the open so that neither of them would try before me.

"Like we didn't know you were going to." Naruto said with a sly laugh.

Okay…maybe I had been talking about her a lot lately.

For the past few months.

Everyday.

All day.

But just in case they were planning on stabbing me in the back!

We all turned back around in unison.

"Kiba, what…" started Hinata but Sakura suddenly interrupted her.

"Kiba, are you doing anything later today?" she asked me.

I thought for a second. If Hinata accepted my request, yes. If she didn't, then I wouldn't be doing anything.

I shrugged her.

"I might be." I told her.

"Well what would you say to a date?" she asked.

A date! I didn't even HAVE to ask!

"…all right!" I said. I wanted to sound suave and cool at this moment but I guess my plans were dashed.

I looked over at Hinata who was blushing madly but didn't appear happy.

Had Sakura forced her into it?

Sakura looked surprised and elbowed Hinata slightly.

"That wasn't so hard!" she said with a grin.

"Ha ha…" said Hinata, a very sad look on her face. "Yeah…"

I couldn't ignore that sad face.

"Hinata, are you unhappy about it?" I asked her. She looked up at me, I could see tears in her eyes.

"No." she managed to spit out. "Have a good time. I have to go."

She then turned around and walked off very quickly.

"Have a good time?" I asked out loud.

"A good time?" Sakura said. "I'll make sure we have a GREAT time."

"WE?" I demanded of her.

"I thought you said you like Hinata…" Akamaru said to me.

"I'm confused…" Mamemaru said.

"You're not the only one!" I told her.

"Kiba!" Naruto yelled. "How could you!"

There was a huge misunderstanding.

I put Akamaru down and ran off to go and find Hinata. She hadn't gone TOO far and I could obviously track her down quick enough.

Following her scent, I was easily able to find her outside the Hyuuga complex. She was crying.

Boy am I smooth! We're not even dating yet and I've already made her cry!

"Hinata…" I said, approaching her slowly. She must not have noticed me come up because she jumped when I called her name.

"Don't worry about me, Kiba." She said. "Go have fun with Sakura. I was just overreacting."

"Have fun with Sakura?" I laughed. Why did she think I had accepted Sakura's invitation? "Not likely!"

"Then why are you two dating now?" she asked, looking up at me. I sat down next to her, thinking back to what I had rehearsed using Akamaru as Hinata.

"It was a misunderstanding!" I told her. "I thought that she was asking me out for you."

Hinata let out one of her famous really loud gasps and turned her head directly at me.

"For…me?" she asked, almost as if she couldn't believe it. Which is crazy. I mean, seriously…who else?

Since I had said that all in my mind and didn't want to say it again, I just nodded at her with a casual shrug.

"I thought about you a lot while I was training." I admitted to her.

It was kind of embarrassing telling this but I told myself I'd do it and there was no turning back now!

"R-r-really!" Hinata asked me, stuttering and all. I nodded again.

"I couldn't help it." I continued. "There were so many girls all over the place but all I thought about was you."

"Kiba…" Hinata said.

"I knew I liked you but then I convinced myself that I liked you more than I liked a friend. And then that I REALLY liked you. Until eventually…I thought that maybe I…"

I stopped. Didn't want to say it quite yet. I looked at Hinata to see what she thought.

I don't know what I was expecting. Her head was down and I couldn't see her face. However, I could see the tears dripping off her chin.

I'm not very good at this asking out thing. But I had rehearsed it SO differently!

"I'm sorry for making you cry, Hinata." I told her, as I went to stand up. She grabbed my hand closest to her and gave it a small tug. I sat back down and glanced at her just as she looked up. She had a big smile on your face.

Did this mean she was crying out of happiness?

Who DOES that?

"No Kiba." She said to me. "It's just that…I missed you so much and the truth is…" she paused, looking at me with a red face. "The truth is…that I've…"

She trailed off. I knew what she was going to say but I guess the immature side of me wanted to hear her say it.

"Kiba…" she said. I looked up at her, trying to hide the big grin on my face. "I really like you too."

I still had my hand clutched in hers so I squeezed it tighter.

I then thought back to my rehearsed speech. I decided to do it anyway.

"So Hinata…" I said. "Will you go out with me?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes…"

Good! It went exactly according to plan!