A/N: I just wanted to say that yes, Kiba is OOC, but it doesn't matter. He's too cute.

Legal Stuffiness: No, I don't own Naruto, but I wish I did. There (glares at evil men in suits). Happy now?

Chapter 2: Snow

Tuesday

By the time he saw Shino the next day, he had sufficiently cooled off enough so that he could talk to him without wanting to rip his throat out. "So what did you get her?" He asked dully, still trying to figure out how to say what he needed to say to Hinata later on.

"A sweater."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Ok. What color is it?"

"White."

It was just the sort of thing he would do. The insect-controlling shinobi never did anything that could possibly be seen as an inappropriate gesture. A sweater was just friendly enough, but not too friendly. And Kiba had bought her jewelry. He wanted to kick himself. "So, Ino-chan talked to you about the surprise party yet?" Shino nodded. "Did she tell you what my job is?" Shino nodded. Kiba withered. "What the hell am I gonna do, Shino? If I go through with this, Hinata's gonna hate me."

Behind his coat collar, Shino stifled a laugh. "Kiba, can you actually say that with a straight face? I don't think that Hinata actually hates anyone. And it's beyond my comprehension that she could ever hate you. Just be careful what you say to her, ok?" Shino sat on a log at the edge of the training ground. Kiba was still not sure about this. He really didn't know how to ask a girl on a date, anyway. It had just never really occurred to him to do so. Until he had been put up to it by Ino. But, now that he was being made to do it, the idea of an actual date with Hinata wasn't exactly a bad one.

Stop it! Do you want Neji to use his not so Gentle Fist technique and kick your ass? Then the little voice in back of his head started laughing. Too late now, dumbass. You got yourself into this, now you're gonna have to just go with the flow. His shoulders slumped. In a despairing tone, he said, "I'm dead meat, Shino." The other shinobi looked up at him from his seat. "Neji's gonna beat the crap out of me."

"I can think of worse reasons to die." Kiba thought that he could detect a note of repressed glee in Shino's voice. He wanted to smack him.

"Shut up, Shino. If you're not going to be of any help, I'm going to make an ass of myself now. Ja." Kiba stomped off through the snow. He knew he had to ask Hinata a couple of days in advance, so that she could clear it with her father. He might actually have to speak to Hiashi before he asked Hinata. In that case, he could explain things to him first. Yeah! That's it! He breathed a sigh of relief as he neared the Hyuuga compound. Hiashi-sama was a reasonable man, and Kiba was sure that he wouldn't mind this little charade if it was for a good cause.

It was his misfortune to come upon Hinata first. Gotta do what I gotta do…

"Oi, Hinata-chan!" He waved at her, and she waved back in her shy way. He ran over to her, and smiled. "You busy?" She shook her head. He gestured to the street ahead of them, "Walk with me?" Hinata's smile was small and hesitant, and she partially covered her mouth with her gloved hand. Why does she always do that? They walked silently for a time, Kiba's palms sweating in his pockets, and Hinata hugging herself in the cold. He was thinking of what to say. There really was nothing that was coming to mind, but he had to think of something. Then, he looked over at her, and saw that she was only wearing a light jacket. She must be freezing! His eyes widened, suddenly worried.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-chan. I should have let you get a coat." He unzipped his jacket and took it off. After he hung the coat over her shoulders, he smiled in spite of the chill in the air. It was cold, but he would rather be sick than her. Oh, man, where did that come from? You're losing it, Kiba.

"Anou, it's alright, Kiba-kun. I'll be fine." She started to take the jacket off.

"Keep it on, Hinata-chan. I don't want you to get sick." They had stopped in the middle of the street. Hinata's face took on a slight pink tinge, and Kiba's did the same. Both of them looked away from one another. What was that odd feeling in his stomach? He watched as Hinata's arms slipped into the sleeves of the coat. Her hands didn't reach the ends of the sleeves. He wasn't sure why, but he found it funny. Kiba's shoulders began to shake as he started to laugh.

"Kiba-kun?" Hinata asked quietly, trying to figure out why was funny.

"Nothing, Hinata." He paused, and then decided to tell her, just to see what she thought. "Acutally, I was just thinking how small you are. My coat is really big on you." Hinata looked down at herself. The coat reached her knees, and there was a good five inches of sleeve before her fingertips. He watched as she wiggled inside the coat, and the sleeves started to bunch up. Soon her gloved hands appeared at the ends of the sleeves. She waggled her fingers at him, a silly expression on her face. It made him laugh again. "That's pretty funny, Hinata."

After laughing for another few moments, during which Hinata's quiet, polite laugh had joined his, he fell silent again, and they walked on. They eventually found themselves in front of the Konoha Ninja Academy. There was a set of swings there for the little kids. Hinata seemed seized by an impulse, and ran for the swings. She sat on the one farthest to the left, and started to swing. Kiba watched her for a few moments, and couldn't help but smile. Wearing his coat, she seemed very much like a little girl, but when he really looked at her face, he saw the young woman that she had become. He suddenly felt the need to look away from her, something more than the cold making his cheeks sting.

He walked to the swings and leaned against the frame. Watching her swing for a few more minutes, with her hair fluttering around her face, and the mid-morning sun shining on her skin, he was now having a hard time looking away. She's…beautiful. His skin was starting to get goose bumps, but he didn't notice. He walked through ankle-deep snow, stopping behind Hinata. He started to push the kunoichi, and she swung higher into the air. Kiba's hands pushed at the small of Hinata's back, and she soared even higher. Now she was making small delighted noises, the way a small child would. One more hard push, and he ran to the front of the swings, just to see what she looked like.

To his surprise, as Hinata swung out, she let go of the chains on the swing, and flew through the air at him. His eyes widened, and he caught her just before she would have flattened him to the ground. A sudden realization came to him. Did she do that on purpose? If so, he thought that Hinata must have a sneaky and mischievous side that had escaped his notice before. She wiggled her fingers at him again, that same silly look on her face, and he burst into laughter again. He fell onto the ground, unable to contain himself. After he regained his breath, he saw Hinata standing over him, a smile on her face, but no hand covering it up.

He spoke without thinking. "Hinata, why do you always cover your mouth when you smile?" Her eyes widened, and her hand went up to her mouth. She seemed startled by his question. Pushing himself to his feet, he gently pulled her hand away from her mouth. "Your smile is nice, Hinata. You shouldn't cover it up." Hinata's startled expression turned to one of slight embarrassment, and she blushed, looking away.

The little voice in the back of his mind was cackling in laughter now. He mentally shut it in a small, dark cupboard and locked it in. That should teach it. Now, he could think. But he didn't, really. He just cocked his head slightly to the left, and asked, "Hinata, what are you doing Thursday night?"

She seemed, once again, surprised by his question. After blinking a few times, Hinata said, "Anou…nothing. I have my birthday celebration during the day, but at night, there shouldn't be anything that requires my presence." She looked at him curiously, an expectant expression in her pearly eyes.

"Would you like to come out with me, then? I mean, if you're not too tired from your birthday stuff." Kiba blinked. That had been surprisingly easy to say. Maybe it was because they had been laughing.

She looked at him for a moment, not quite as startled as he thought she would be, but more pensive than anything else. Her hand rose to her mouth, hiding a smile. Then she saw him looking at her, and jerked her hand away quickly. Hinata's smile was nervous, but she said, "Hai." He blinked in surprise. Kiba had half expected her to tell him no. A small knot of tension in his stomach seemed to release. He smiled, glad that it had gone so smoothly. Now, he just had to make sure that Ino's little scheme didn't backfire and hurt Hinata.

"Well, let me walk you home then…" He said in a bemused way. The strange feeling had come back to his stomach, but it didn't seem quite so unpleasant now. She nodded, and fell in beside him, and the silence stretched between them. He was not uncomfortable, and neither did she seem to be.

Kiba's face was strange. He had just asked her on a date? Hinata's eyes kept trying to look at him where he walked beside her. She had to try very hard not to use her Byakugan just so that she could see his face. He seemed as if he was thinking, though about what, she could not guess. The silence between them was a comfortable one, even though she was not used to Kiba being so quiet.

Why had she said yes? She knew what Shino would say. "Hinata, you shouldn't do such things. It will create strain on the team…" Shino was a very different kind of person from she and Kiba, though. As she stole another glance at him from the corner of her eye, she took in his appearance. He was taller than she was by at least a head, with very messy short brown hair, as well as strange eyes that reminded her of Akamaru's. He had those red tattoos on his face, almost fang-shaped. He did have fangs, as well, but those never really showed unless he smiled or was really angry. She thought that he must be very cold. He had only his net shirt and the segmented body armor that he always wore.

When they got to her house, she wriggled out of his coat, and handed it back to him. She hoped that he did not get sick because he had tried to be a gentleman. That almost made her laugh. Kiba, being a gentleman. Strange, but it does sort of fit. "Arigato, Kiba-kun." She said, blushing. Hinata did manage to look at him long enough to see that he seemed to have a slight pink hue to his cheeks as well.

"No problem. I'll see you tomorrow for training, Hinata-chan. What time should I come by on Thurdsay?" His mention of their date made her blush again, this time much more fiercely. She was having trouble getting used to the idea of going on a date with Kiba.

"I'll let you know. I still have to tell my father." She saw his eyes widen at that. "Oh, don't worry. He'll be fine with it, since he knows you." She tried to reassure him, but he swallowed audibly. Then, she smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring way, and Kiba's anxiety seemed to melt into a very goofy expression, and he rubbed the back of his neck while stuttering his farewell.

Kiba lay in his bed on that night, thinking things over. The more he thought about it, though, the more he wished that Ino wasn't having that stupid party. That way, Hinata would have no chance of being hurt. As it was at the moment, she stood to get very hurt, indeed. They had both had a good time today, of that he was certain. He remembered Hinata flying through the air at him. Her eyes had been closed. Somehow, she had known he would catch her. That was how much she trusted him.

Sitting up, he swung his legs over the edge of his bed. "Shit." He ran his fingers through his hair. Why did he have to feel like this? It's Hinata. Little Hinata. But it wasn't just little Hinata anymore, was it? She had grown up, just as he had. She was very different from all of the idiot girls he had grown up with, too. She was graceful, quiet, kind, and as he had discovered today, funny when she wanted to be. Hinata was also very strong. How else had she been able to maintain enough courage to fight her cousin, whom she was so obviously terrified of?

He looked across the room at his small table. In the middle of it, sat Hinata's present. It was very like her: small, bright, and so obviously unlike anything around it. His eyes strayed to the pictures on the table. There were two frames. One held a photo of Kurenai-sensei and their team. The other had two photographs in it. There was one of him being chased by Shino and a cloud of destruction bugs, since he had taken Shino's sunglasses. He snorted. That was kinda fun…The picture beneath that one had him and Hinata in it. His eyes latched onto this image, unable to look away from it. They were only genin, twelve years old. There was a big, goofy grin on his face, and his arm was flung across Hinata's shoulders. She was looking up at him with a strange expression on her face. It wasn't just that she was surprised that he had put his arm there, but there was the slightest hint of a blush on her face.

He wondered how she thought of him. Was he the protective brother to her? Was he the idiot like Naruto was to Sakura? No. Hinata would never think I'm an idiot. That assertion was something he was very sure of. He knew that she didn't think he was an idiot. But what was he to her? That would be a good topic of conversation for a later time.

For a long time, he was unable to sleep.

Hinata lay in bed, staring at the pictures on her wall. She saw the ones from when she and Kiba and Shino first began to work together as a team. Shino always seemed to be off to one side, while Kiba was in the center of attention. He was loud, and at first his behavior had frightened her. She was so used to the quiet of the Hyuuga compound and her own quiet thoughts that someone so open and free with their thoughts and actions was rather unnerving. Now, it was not a problem at all to be around Kiba. In fact, one of her favorite pictures on the wall was of she and Kiba.

She had sprained her ankle on a mission, and Kiba had carried her all the way back to Konoha. Kurenai-sensei had taken the picture of Kiba grinning deliriously with her on his back, while Shino had been protesting, saying that he should rest. Shino had offered to take her on his back, but Kiba had growled at him, his protective side getting a little carried away. That was why she always felt so safe around Kiba. He was always protecting her, but he did know how to let her fight for herself.

As she looked away from the picture, she thought of her talk with her father. He had not really cared that she was going out on Thursday, so long as she fulfilled her obligations at her birthday celebration before she did. Neji had been in the room when she talked to him, though, and his eyes had narrowed in suspicion. He had become far too protective of her lately. It was like she had two Kibas, but Neji's protectiveness was much more aggressive. He would argue with Hinata at times, telling her that he did not trust her teammates, and that sooner or later, one of them would do something to hurt her. He was really paranoid. Kiba and Shino would never do anything to hurt her.

Especially not Kiba…Hinata closed her eyes, and sleep took her slowly, all the while, she thought of how Kiba had pushed her on the swing, just like he had when they were in the Ninja Academy as little kids. He probably didn't remember that, though. Her thoughts turned more hazy, and then turned into dreams, which she could not remember in the morning, but had a vague feeling that they had been pleasant.

A/N: So, how's it going? Like? Hate? Input! Press the little button. You know you want to...