Hinata liked ramen, but she was tired of it. Everyday, for the last week or so, after training with her teammate, they took her to eat ramen. They assumed that she would want to go, because of the crush she had on Naruto. Key word in that sentence being had.

Kiba probably forgot that she was with him when Naruto announced that ha and Sakura were going out. That or he thought that Hinata would want the chance to "fight for her man." It was sweet that they were willing to do this for her, but she wanted it to stop. She just didn't know how to tell them.

Maybe I should be direct? she thought to herself, then immediately discarded that idea. Hinata didn't like confrontations. Besides her friends were just trying to help her out. It wasn't their fault that she had moved on with her life.

Maybe I should just tell them I don't want ramen? This way they don't know that I know about what they're doing. Besides this was most likely Kiba's idea. Shino didn't really like ramen, he just put up with it. This fact is what clued her in to the fact that her teammates were up to something.

I could always get a new crush. This thought made her blush a little. She had had such a crush on Naruto that she didn't know where to begin looking for a new crush. That and she thought it would be "too troublesome" to quote Shikamaru.

Hinata was so focused on her dilemma that she hadn't realized that they had reached their destination. She would have continued walking if Kiba hadn't grabbed the back of her coat to stop her.

"Where are you going?" he asked, "We're here."

Hinata blushed at this. "Nn," was the only thing she said to this. She was about to voice her oppinion about ramen when she saw Team 10. I was like the Korean BBQ joint all over again. Everything looked normal, but it didn't feel normal. Ino sat between her two teammates, talking a mile a minute. Shikamaru sat to her left sighing into his soup and Chouji slowly slurped noodles into his mouth. Hinata was trying to figure out what was wrong, but her thoughts were again interupted by Kiba.

"Hey guys!" he called out to the other team. "Mind if we join you?" Before they could say yes or no, he took an open stool next to Shikamaru. Shino just shrugged and sat next to Kiba. The only place open at the counter now was next to Chouji, so she went to the empty stool and smiled softly at the chubby ninja.

"Hello Chouji-kun," she greeted quietly.

Chouji made sure to swallowed before he replied, "Hello Hinata-chan. How has your day been going?"

"It's been going well. What about you?"

"Can't complain," he said cryptically. Before Hinata could question him, the girl behind the counter asked for Hinata's order. As she turned her head to give it to the girl, she noticed that Ino was looking at her. Hinata smiled shyly at the blond before ordering her meal. Ino just turned her head and started talking with Kiba, not acknowledging Hinata's smile.

Hinata just shrugged, thinking that Ino just didn't see it. But as the evening progressed Hinata noticed more and more discrepancies in Ino's behavior. She seemed intent on ignoring Hinata and often interupted conversations Hinata started with any of the other ninjas. Hinata wasn't the only one who noticed this though. Chouji had an annoyed look on his face because of the antics of his teammate.

Eventually the awkward dinner ended and they all started to leave the ramen shop. Hinata lived on the other side of town from everybody else. She was used to either walking home alone or with one or both of her teammates. Tonight would have been alone, Shino had a mission early the next morning and Kiba needed to rush home to clean up before his mother returned from a mission, but Chouji volunteered to walk her home. Because of Hinata's bloodline she had a 360 degree view of everything around her, so she noticed that there was a vein pulsing on her forehead.

They walked in silence for a while. Finally Hinata broke the silence.

"Is Ino mad at me?" she asked quietly.

Chouji didn't look at her at first. So, they continued to walk in silence. Finally a few blocks away from the Hyuuga compound.

"She told me that she made a mistake, and wanted to get back together," he said quietly.

Hinata looked up at him. "What did you say?"

"I told her that I would have to think about it."

She was almost afraid to bring up the next question, "D-do you want to get back together with her?" Chouji just shrugged. Hinata would have pressed further, but they reached the Hyuuga compound.

So instead of asking about Ino again, Hinata turned towards Chouji and smiled at him. "Thank you for walking me home Chouji-kun."

Chouji had a wierd look on his face. He looked like she was a puzzle and he was trying to solve it. Finally he leaned down quickly, and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. Hinata's eyes widened at Chouji's sudden action. He smiled down at her.

"Goodnight Hinata-chan."