Chapter 2: Enter the Boy and his Dog

Sorry about this late update. I had planned to update every Sunday, but because of out-of-state competitions, I haven't been home much. Do expect an update from now on, unless something terrible comes up.

Year Nine

It was a blistering, hot day. The sun shone brightly over a group of young children, a few parents, and a rather disgruntled sensei. It was opening day for the new Academy students. Boys ran here and there, already envisioning themselves as mighty ninjas, girls stood in the fields, gathering flowers and talk about things that only little girls can talk about, and parents scrutinized Iruka-sensei on the safety of their children.

Iruka sighed; he hated Opening Day. After answering for the bajillionth time to a mother that little Miss so-and-so would not be worked too hard, he was accosted by Hyuuga Hiashi.

Iruke bowed respectfully, it would not do to insult the head of the strongest clan in Konoha. As he looked down, he saw a head peeping around Hiashi's robes. When he straightened up, Hiashi pulled a little girl from behind him, "This is my daughter, Hyuuga Hinata, who will one day be the heir of the Hyuuga clan. I wish her to be strong when she inherits my place in society, therefore I want you to work her hard."

Iruka was surprised. He had been expecting another, "Treat my daughter cautiously or die" speech. Hyuuga Hiashi was different in all aspects from a normal parent.

"I will be sure to make sure the Hinata works well, Hiashi-sama. But she will have fun, won't you Hinata?"

Hinata blushed and hid behind her father again. As the two walked off, Iruka heard a bang behind him and a few loud shouts.

Two boys had apparently begun fighting. Both had strange markings on their faces. One was holding a dog. Iruka recognized the other. The Kyuubi boy. Both lay sprawled on the ground, apparently after having a furious fistfight, judging by the bruises on their faces. A group of boys surrounded them, encouraging the boy with face markings to beat the other down.

Iruka hurried over and grabbed both by the scruffs of their necks. The courtyard became silent, all eyes on the scene.

A woman came bustling out of the crowd and yelled, "INUZUKA KIBA, THE MOMENT I TURN MY BACK, YOU GET INTO ANOTHER FIGHT. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH YOU?" She brushed by a little girl, nearly knocking her over.

The girl glanced over at the scene. She recognized the boy who had given her the jacket that cold day, nearly a year ago. But the other… Hinata blushed, and looked down. He seemed like a nice boy, and he was handsome, with bright blue eyes and yellow hair that shone like spun gold.

Kiba noticed Hinata as he was being waved around in the air by his furious mother. Iruka-sensei and the other boy had backed away from the two. Kiba yelled, "HI HINATA! GUESS WH-" only to be shaken twice as hard, as his mother's voice increased in volume.

Hinata blushed darker. She hid behind her father as others stared at her. She would get a talking to at home for this, but her father couldn't punish her in front of all these people.

The first day of Academy was finally here. All the students ran around meeting each other, except two. Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto were sitting on opposite sides of the room. One was pouting because Iruka-sensei had hit him on the head for bringing a bowl of instant ramen to school and trying to heat it with a stick and firewood. The other was staring at the multitudes of children and occasionally glancing shyly at the other said loner.

A few girls had come up to Hinata and introduced themselves. One, a girl that seemed almost as shy as Hinata, had pink hair and a name to match, Haruno Sakura. A Yamanaka Ino had bounced up to her followed by a group of loyal friends and asked Hinata to play. Kiba also ran up to Hinata and said hi. When Hinata asked how Shiroimaru was doing, he burst into tears, "HE GOT RUN OVER BY A CAR. MY BEAUTIFUL SHIROIMARU. THAT STUPID CAR!" He wailed.

Hinata was shocked and tried to comfort him, while keeping his body in front of the staring faces. Then, Iruka-sensei entered, and class started.

Kiba was having an awful day. He started a fight with some weird unknown boy to hide the sorrow he felt inside. It had been terrible, watching the vets studying Shiroimaru's body and telling him that there was no chance because the car had crushed his poor dog's chest. It was something that a young boy should never have to experience.

The rest of the day was spent on introductions. Kiba learned that Uchiha Sasuke had an awesome brother who was already a jounin, Akimichi Chouji liked to eat meat, Haruno Sakura was born on the first day that the cherry trees blossomed (A/N I have no idea if this is true, so don't ask), and Aburame Shino liked bugs. He also learned that Nara Shikamaru thought that everything was troublesome, and Uzumaki Naruto wanted to be Hokage when he grew up.

Kiba dozed off once, as an overly perky girl introduced herself as Yamanaka… something. He woke up when someone poked him on the head and told him that it was his turn.

He said, "I'm Inuzuka Kiba. I had a dog named Shiroimaru, but he got run over by a car." He sat down and buried his head in his arms as a few girls sniffed and the boy next to him patted his head sympathetically.

When it was Hinata's turn, she nervously got up and said, "I-I'm H-h-yuga H-h-hinata. I-I h-h-ope t-to l-learn th-things in A-academy." She blushed and sat down quickly.

It was a few weeks before anything momentous occurred. They got their first report cards back. Kiba glanced casually at his grades. He was eighth in the class of twelve boys. Not bad. He showed the grades to his new puppy, Akamaru, who sniffed and drooled over it.

Hinata slowly and nervously opened her letter. Her father would be disappointed and angry if she got anything other than first place. She looked at her grades and gasped. She was THIRD! Her father would kill her. She felt like crying.

Kiba glanced over at Hinata. He hadn't really spoken to her since the first day. He saw her eyes fill with tears. He winced inside. He couldn't stand seeing a girl cry. Quickly, he told Akamaru to walk over and sit on her lap. Iruka was busy explaining to Naruto why he was dead last, so he didn't notice.

Hinata blinked through a haze of tears at the cute little puppy sitting on her lap. Akamaru barked softly and licked her face. She glanced across the aisle at Kiba, who grinned and gave her the thumbs up. Hinata managed a smile, and patted Akamaru's soft fur.

Two months later, the students of Ninja Academy were given their first test in front of the other students. When Iruka-sensei announced this, nearly every student cheered and hurried to get in line. Hinata slowly ambled to the back, right behind Nara Shikamaru. Then, she noticed that everybody's eyes would be on her when she began, if she went last, so she asked to cut. It was better to be near the middle, most of the people wouldn't be paying attention because they would either be nervous or exhilarated about the task. Shikamaru consented, with a "This is so troublesome"

Kiba was the fourth one in line. He would have gotten there quicker, if he hadn't tripped over the leg of a chair that some stupid kid didn't push in. Ahead of him was, Uchiha Sasuke, Yamanaka Ino, and Uzumaki Naruto. Kiba looked back at Hinata and said, "I'll let you Chinese cut, Hinata."

Hinata blushed and shook her head as the boy behind Kiba glared at him.

The test was simple. Five shurikens followed by a direct attack with the kunai point. They would be attacking a wooden dummy, with a straw head that could be attached back on each time. Kiba bounced on his feet, telling the three in front to hurry and mess up so he could make a fool of them. Sasuke and Ino completed it flawlessly. Naruto managed to trip and cut the wooden dummy in half.

Iruka-sensei yelled at him and brought another one out, complaining about money wasters. Then, it was Kiba's turn. He threw his shurikens and charged with a roar. He ran straight into the dummy, knocking it over. When the dust cleared, the class saw Kiba sitting on top of the dummy, which still had its head. Iruka slapped his head and went to get a rather dazed Kiba onto his feet.

When Hinata's turn came, she could barely take out her shuriken because her hands were shaking so badly. She threw them feebly, neither of them went far, and charged the dummy half-heartedly. She stopped her kunai right in front of the dummy's neck. She didn't know why, she just couldn't "kill" it.

Needless to say, neither Hinata nor Kiba did very well on that test.

The first year of Ninja Academy was over. The students had two weeks of glorious break until it started again. Kiba ran over to Hinata's house during the first day of break.

When he rang the doorbell, a man appeared. He glared down at Kiba and asked what he wanted. When Kiba explained that he wanted to see Hinata, the man shut the door in his face.

Kiba slowly began walking away dejectedly, until he heard the door open behind him. Hinata was standing in the doorway. Kiba whooped and ran back, "CAN YOU PLAY TODAY? CAN YOU? CAN YOU? ME AND AKAMARU HAVEN'T PLAYED K-NINE IN AGES. DO YOU WANT TO PLAY WITH US?"

Hinata's face fell, "I'm not sure Kiba, I'll ask my guardian." She shut the door in his face and left.

A few moments later, she opened it again and ran outside, "I think Hizashi-sama liked you Kiba. Otherwise, I would have to have a chaperone. Actually, I wouldn't even get to see you, if he didn't like your appearance."

Kiba was astonished, "Was he that man that opened the door? Is he always so mad?"

Hinata stared, "Hizashi-sama was actually more kind than usual today. He was in a good mood."

Kiba and Hinata made their way to the clearing where they first met each other. Kiba and Akamaru ran all the way there, then all the way back, telling Hinata to hurry up. The three spent a happy afternoon playing. Only one of them knew that it would be the last.

When Hinata quietly stole into the house around dusk, she ran into her father. She groaned inside, she knew that he would find out eventually, but she wished that it wouldn't happen so soon.

His face looked like a thundercloud as he spoke to her in a dangerously calm voice, "Hinata, you will be punished as I see fit for gadding about all afternoon with the boy that I forbade you to see. You wasted training time and traded it in for useless playtime. I am ashamed and angered that a daughter of mine would do such a thing. Hizashi-sama has been punished severely for allowing you to go. Now go to your room until I can see to a just punishment for you. I must impose upon you the rules of obedience. You will never see that bothersome boy again, unless in school, where you will not speak to him."

Hinata had sacrificed much to have an enjoyable afternoon. She cried herself to sleep, dreaming of the day when she would finally be out of her father's shadow and able to run swift and free like the boy and his dog. She dreamed of the wide plains, the wild forests, and the swift-flowing rivers. She dreamed of sailing high, high above the mountain that was her father.

Kiba strolled across the trail towards his home, his heart as light as air. He gave a yell of pure joy and jumped… and tripped when he came down, landing in a pile of leaves. Akamaru leaped onto his chest and curled into a ball. Kiba lay there with his hands behind his head, thinking.

He could imagine himself airborne. He was flying through the clouds and playing with the wind. He sailed lower and touched the crests of the waves of the mighty ocean. He flew over the treetops, rustling the leaves. He scaled a mountain, following its steep uphill slope. He was a spirit. He was part of nature, a part of the amazing thing known as the world.

The paths of both Kiba and Hinata's thoughts may have crossed at some point. They could have continued on their own jolly way. They might have joined and soared together, going where the wind may take them. Nothing was certain, but one thing was for sure. Though, Hinata's father didn't approve, it most certainly wouldn't be the end to the future that the two would share.

A/N So, how did you like this chapter? It's still not as long as I would have liked. I still haven't really gotten into the romance part yet, but it'll come. Revier please.