Hinata hummed as she looked over the vegetables in the market. There was something she couldn't remember that she wanted to pick up, and it was going to bother her until she figured it out.
"Hinata." Hinata looked to where her name was called.
Kiba looked at his feet, his hand in his pockets. She could see Akamaru on the edge of the market. He wasn't meant to be near the food.
"Kiba-kun." Hinata greeted, unsure. She still felt a little sour with the whole ordeal.
She couldn't hold against him forever, but she also didn't know if the wound had healed, not when she and Kiba were struggling right now.
"Can I buy you lunch, maybe sit and talk for a while?" Kiba asked, rubbing the back of his head.
She thought about it for a minute and looked back down at her shopping. She could take a little time. She nodded.
Kiba bought them lunch, and they sat on the edge of the market. She gave Akamaru a good pat down, though he seemed just as wary of her as Kiba, strange he usually didn't feed off his energy that internally that he wouldn't at least be excited to see her.
Despite saying he wanted to talk, they ate mostly in silence. He picked at his food, but he made his way through it. They sat there with empty containers and no more excuse to be quiet.
"I'm sorry." Was all he said. Kiba stared at the mark with a flat face, his apology genuine. Knowing him, he probably overthought this entire process, but when it came down to it, he had nothing to say.
"I know Kiba-kun." Did she forgive him? Just thinking about it still hurt. She had made a point not to think about it, but now that she did, maybe it was for the best that they drifted apart with time. Of course, Kiba couldn't tell her every interaction she and Kiba had had, but if it was even occasionally like she had experience and been told, she wasn't sure she wanted it. Even from a friend that she had had for so long.
"I realize now that..." He took a heavy breath. "I haven't been supportive of anything you've wanted to do in the last few years." He tied his hands together, leaning on his knees. "And the tactics I tried to use to change your mind were not much better than the Hyuga just telling you you couldn't do something because it didn't fit their image of what you should be."
She pressed her lips together, listening.
"When we were kids, you never really had many opinions on anything. You weren't allowed. I guess I got used to you taking my side of things and coming to me for everything because you didn't know what to do." He leaned further to scratch the back of his head. "I got used to you just listening to my reasoning. So when suddenly we disagreed on something I thought was so plain and simple, I didn't take it well."
She could tell that part of this was rehearsed, but he was at the point of just saying whatever came to mind.
He whined, folding both hands over the back of his head, doubling over. "God, now that I say that, I sound so manipulative."
"It was manipulative." She agreed.
He whimpered, violently ruffling his hair.
She made no move to comfort him. If he was going to change the behavior, he was going to need to feel the pain. He stopped his assault but stayed there, doubled over for a few moments more.
He sat back and huffed, sniffing, wiping his nose on his sleeve, and combating the tears by looking up. "How are you?"
She pressed her lips together for a second more. "My memories are not going to come back." She told him she wasn't sure why it was the first thing that came to mind.
Kiba took a breath. "Are you going to stay with him?"
Hinata wondered how long people would still ask. It had been months now. Was everyone still waiting for her to decide to leave?
"Alright, good." He sniffed.
She stared at him, surprised.
"He treats you well." Kiba continued.
When she didn't say anything, he looked back to see her surprised look. He looked back down. "I mean, you look happy. You looked happy then. He must be doing something right."
"I think you are the first person to admit that." She told him.
Kiba rubbed the back of his head again. "We see what we want to see, I guess."
Hinata set down her groceries.
Hinata sighed. Three years ago was only a few months ago for her, but it was starting to feel just as distant. She had settled into her life with Sasuke, and though she loved it, every once in a while, she wondered if she regretted some of the decisions she had made in those three years she couldn't remember.
Not Sasuke. She couldn't regret him. She loved him. She loved him now.
But over time, the stories of herself in retrospect made her wonder if there were things she could have done differently and kept a few more friends along the way. Kiba was a prime example. Was there something she could have done that would have changed his mind, given him a different perspective instead of pushing him and everyone else away because no one but Sasuke would understand.
She shook her head. She couldn't be sure, but she also knew that it wasn't easy to change people's minds, and though she couldn't remember those days, one thing she could remember was how isolated she had felt over the years dealing with the Hyuga issues on her own. There were things she just had to hide because Kiba would keep pushing to know, Shino would look concerned, she would be treated lighter by her sensei. Sometimes she just wanted a hug, and it wasn't something she could have gotten from them; there were too many opinions on what she should do.
It was time to let this friend go.
She would forgive him with time, they still had a connection as former teammates, but she couldn't justify the connection that was hurting her to think about anymore. What would he say the next time he felt hurt by her decisions?
Hinata put the groceries away and put a hand on her hip. Where was her husband? She needed a hug,
She found him on the back porch lying flat. His bangs were still clipped back from cleaning.
She sat down and curled up against him.
He pulled an arm around her and smiled. "How was your trip?"
She groaned.
"That bad?" He asked. He didn't pry more.
They sat there in silence for a little while, and she decided she wanted to share. "I don't think I want to be friends with Kiba-kun anymore."
With her head tucked into his shoulder, she could only see some of his confusion. "Alright?"
"I met him at the market today. He apologized again. I think he finally sees what he did, but..." She sighed. "I just don't know if I want to put the energy into keeping what is left of our friendship."
He took a breath and laid his head back in thought. "I'm not going to miss him. Just make sure that you aren't doing this for my sake."
She shook her head. "He even said something nice about you."
Sasuke scoffed.
"But I look at what I want, with you, and I don't want what he does around my children or me." She told him. "I don't want my decision constantly negated on me, and though I think he has seen his error, I am not convinced that he won't still do the same tomorrow."
"I'm surprised." Sasuke finally said.
"Hm?" She wondered.
"Hinata, you are a very forgiving person. I know that he gave you a lot of shit, but I'm surprised that you would make such a hard decision to cut him out like that." He explained.
"That is why." She pointed out.
"What?" He asked, looking at her, confused.
"You just heard me make a very unlike me decision, and instead of exploding and telling me how unlike myself I am being, you calmly told me you are surprised and why." She explained, sitting up. "You may disagree and try to change my mind, but you are going to shout the most hurtful thing you think of me to try to persuade me."
Sasuke nodded, but he looked conflicted.
"What do you think?" She asked.
He sighed. "I just don't want you to cut him out because he said something about me. You're protective. You're protective of my feelings and my image. All those times you came to my house with food because you felt bad about something you heard someone else say about me was proof of that. Just make sure you aren't doing this because you are protecting me from him."
"I'll admit that it is a factor, but it's just a pile. Maybe I will change my mind in time, but right now, I can't." She huffed. "Are you hungry?" She asked.
Sasuke chuckled.