Chapter 5: Enter the Romance

This is the last chapter of BSWE before the customary overview. Please visit my profile for more information.

Year Twelve

The graduation ceremony was held at noon on the first day of the final week of Academy. Hinata stood next to her father after she had been presented with her headband. She was looking at a certain blonde-haired boy sitting beneath a tree on a swing. She sighed, feeling her heart go out for him, poor Naruto.

Kiba stood proudly next to his mother, his chest out and headband on, while glancing out of the corner of his eye at the snow-eyed girl standing close by. He wanted her to come up to him and congratulate him, in return he would profess his gratitude of having her as a friend and tell her some things that he had been wanting to say for days. Instead, he saw her meek smile turn into a frown as she watched something.

Following her line of vision, Kiba saw Naruto sitting under a tree, on a swing. Kiba smirked; Naruto hadn't even come close to graduating. Kiba had eaves-… overheard a conversation between Miruki-sensei and Iruka-sensei concerning Naruto's performance.

Kiba himself hadn't done the very best in class, he was third to last, right before Shikamaru and Chouji, but at least he had managed to make one and a half clones (one being dead and lifeless).

Kiba glared at Naruto, he always managed to take Hinata's thoughts away from him. Kiba was not so dense that he did not realize that a certain girl had feelings for the blue-eyed miscreant. The thought made him shudder.

Later in the day, Kiba stopped by a shop where something inside had caught his eye. Hinata was inside, peering at the items on sale at the cashier's desk. Kiba bounced in and nonchalantly walked over to where Hinata stood.

"Oh," he exclaimed, "Fancy seeing you here Hinata, what are you doing?"

Hinata jumped in fright, her eyes wide as she looked around, "K-Kiba-kun, I-I, w-well, umm."

Kiba looked over her shoulder at what Hinata was looking at, "Tickets for a free dinner at Ichiraku's? I didn't know you ate there, the food's pretty good, but its just ramen."

Hinata blushed, "W-well, I-I, It isn't f-for m-me."

Kiba stared at her, "Then who is it for?"

Hinata blushed even deeper red, "W-well, I-I f-felt s-sorry f-for N-Naruto. Y-you know, c-cause h-he didn't p-pass. So I-I thought I'd cheer h-him up."

Kiba grimaced on the inside, Naruto again, "Well, I'll help you pay for it and we'll take it up to him together, how about that?"

Hinata smiled, "Y-you're s-so nice, Kiba-kun."

The late afternoon sunshine shined down on the two figures, walking to Naruto's lonely apartment.

Kiba jumped along, whistling and casting sideway glances at Hinata. She looked pretty, the sun was shining on her hair, casting shadows on her pale face, lost in thought. Her pale eyes were overcastted with black lashes. Her lips were pale pink and turned up at the edges, as if she were going to laugh at any second and just couldn't figure out when to start.

Hinata was clutching the Ichiraku tickets in her hand. She looked down as she walked, wondering what she would say to Naruto when she saw him. What if he rejected the tickets? Hinata knew him well enough to know that he didn't like pity or charity. Hinata was glad Kiba had offered to go with her; it wouldn't seem strange compared to if she had gone alone.

She looked up at Kiba; he was smiling as he thought of something. Hinata giggled, knowing Kiba, it was something random that he had thought up out of nowhere.

Kiba looked at Hinata when he heard her giggle. His mouth opened in surprise, he had never seen Hinata giggle, she wasn't like the other girls in his class, always laughing and whispering about something or another. Those kinds of girls annoyed Kiba. Kiba had seen Hinata smile and laugh at high peaks of happiness, but never just out of the blue.

"What's so funny?" Kiba demanded.

Hinata looked at him, her laugh disappearing faster than food down Akamaru's throat. She flushed, realizing she had laughed out loud, "N-nothing, Kiba-kun, it's n-nothing."

Kiba stared at her questionably, the expression on his face equivalent to that of a dog who couldn't figure out why his owners couldn't get up and give him his breakfast.

This comparison made another laugh bubble out of Hinata's throat. Kiba stopped dead still, twice in one day? He turned to face her, peering at her as if she were some strange creature that had intruded upon his territory and he couldn't figure out whether to bite it or allow it to stay in peace.

Hinata couldn't help herself. She burst out laughing.

Kiba still couldn't figure out what the big deal was. But, because Hinata looked so strange with her mouth open and a bell-like sound coming out, Kiba decided to start laughing as well.

The two of them stood laughing in the middle of the street like there was no tomorrow. Passersby stared, and quickly walked past, afraid of the mental sanity of the two delinquents laughing for no apparent reason.

Hinata was the first to stop, wiping tears of merriment off her face.

Kiba stopped too, a wide grin on his face, "Well, now that we stopped, could you tell me what's the big deal with the number of laughs in one day. I thought your dad only allowed you one a year."

Hinata was still smiling, and replied without stuttering, "I just felt happy. I don't know why, but I felt that I needed to laugh and get something out of me. And no, Father does not restrict happiness, though he prefer that members of the family keep the laughter down so as not to disturb him." She giggled a little at the thought of her father stalking around stopping smiles and laughter.

The two slowly walked in no apparent direction, nearly forgetting about the fact that Hinata still held Naruto's ramen bar tickets.

They chatted awhile, finding a bench to rest on, as the last rays of the sun disappeared over the horizon. Night animals began their dark sojourn across the leagues of darkness and glow of streetlights cut through the blackness of night.

Kiba saw that Hinata was shivering and took his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. Hinata protested but Kiba said, "No, that's ok. I don't want to wear that ugly thing anyways." Then as if remembering something, he added, " Plus, if my mom asks why I wasn't wearing my jacket, I'll just tell her I gave it to a damsel in distress. She can't blame me then."

Hinata laughed, "I can't believe you still remember that little phrase. What did you say next?"

Kiba thought for a moment, then he said in a low voice, "My mom always tells me to help the ladies. It will get me a good wife in the future. I don't want to get married though. All your wife does is cook, clean, and crank at you. I'd want a wife that's a ninja and is nice to dogs and will let them into the house."

Hinata's heart began beating quicker and quicker.

Kiba smiled at her, "Would you be nice to dogs and let them in the house?"

Hinata said softly, "Hai"

Kiba grinned, "Good."

And so ends Behind Snow White Eyes. Let it be known, that as time progressed, Kiba and Hinata grew closer and closer. Their chosen paths led different courses but all ended at the same place, the wedding altar. Kiba proposed to Hinata at age twenty-one, He was an elite jounin and she was a progressing chuunin. He took her away from her oppressing father and brought her to the Inuzuka clan. Their lives continued full of endless love until Kiba died of heart complications at age seventy-nine. Hinata died one month later, unable to live without him.

Kiba unlocked the mystery behind the snow-white eyes and stepped into a world full of happiness, excitement… and love.

A/N I hope you like the finale. I tried to make it the best chapter I've ever written for this story. It's shorter than the others, but quality over quantity. Review please and view my profile for a chance (Nick Nacks) to win a cyber high five.