A/N: I want to thank everyone for continuing to follow along with my story and all of the kind reviews the last few chapters have received. The last chapter put me over the 300 review mark. YEAH!
One major bit of news about why this chapter took a little longer than I expected. I went back and took some time to do a MUCH needed re-edit of chapter 1. I wrote the first chapter of this story as a one-shot that was written in a quick three hour session and then published. It was my first attempt at writing anything in over 6 years and now that my writing style has improved I felt it was time to look back and do a better job. So, for anyone who cares, there should be a polished and slightly re-written chapter 1 available for your consumption. I won't say that it is perfect, but I will say that it is a definite improvement over the original.
The dark-haired former avenger, the last known living Uchiha, rolls his eyes as his teammate turned girlfriend squeals in excitement at a floral print dress she sees on display. They have been walking down the streets of Konohagakure taking in the sights, sounds and aromas of the festival ever since he had picked her up for their date.
Sakura grabs the dress and presses it against her athletic body, looking down at the knee length red dress with a pink cherry blossom pattern. Her emerald eyes sparkle happily as she looks up at Sasuke with a smile. "I didn't see this one when we walked by earlier. What do you think, wouldn't this look great on me for the cherry blossom festival, Sasuke-kun?" When she does not get an immediate reply from her boyfriend her eyes narrow and her voice loses some of its cheerfulness. "Well?"
"Hn, don't you already have one like that?" He replies, feigning misunderstanding why, with a closet nearly bursting with clothes, that she would need yet another dress. 'She spends most of her time working at the hospital anyways so it's not like she is going to wear that dress more than a couple of times before she says that it is out of style. Personally I think she finds shopping to be very cathartic and uses it as a medication for her soul. Even if that is the reason it is still a waste of money.'
Sakura lets out a long sigh of exasperation at how he can be so clueless sometimes. "That one is a full length dress for when we go out on formal dinner dates. This one is for wearing out during the daytime to a festival or going on that picnic you keep saying we will go on one day. Seriously, this is not the first time I have had to explain this you, it's like you forget on purpose or just don't care." She lifts up one leg and turns her foot to the side. "I think those shoes I bought last week will go perfectly with this dress too." She looks back up at Sasuke with a questioning look. "So, what do you think, should I get the dress or not, Sasuke-kun?"
"Whatever, it's your money, spend it however you want." He just looks away with a bored expression not wanting to get into an argument on their first date in weeks. He had been gone a lot the last few months on missions for the village, which was not a bad thing because he was needing the money. After he was marked as a rogue shinobi his clan's remaining bank accounts had been seized and if not for the stigma of the murders done inside the Uchiha compound his family's land would have been seized and sold as well.
Most of his father's assets were returned to him as the sole heir to his family, but back taxes and much needed repairs took much of that money. So going out on missions and selling off a small portion of his clans old estate was his only way to keep from losing everything. He suspects that the return of his old teammate to the village might have a lot to do with the sudden increase in the number of missions he was being offered, since the dobe had been taking every A-ranked and S-ranked mission the Hokage would allow him to do since that incident with Rock Lee. Now that Naruto was actually staying in the village again, higher paying mission were becoming more available again. Either that or the Hokage was trying to keep the two of them apart, whatever the reason he really didn't care or at least that is what he is telling himself. The pay and rebuilding the trust of the village council by completing high ranking missions is a priority for him these days.
"You are no help, you know that Uchiha Sasuke?" She turns around and motions to the vendor that she wants to buy the dress, smiling the while time. 'He will change his mind once he sees me in this dress, I just know he will. He thinks that I haven't noticed him looking at my legs when I wear something really high cut, but I know better.' She thinks back happily at how he had tried to not let her catch him staring when she had worn that full length dress with the slit that ran very high up on the left side. 'At dinner that night when he looked over and caught the guy at the next table staring, I thought the pervert was going to die from fright by the way Sasuke stared over at him.' She sighs happily at how he still tries to act like doesn't care and that he sees her as a borderline nuisance and not as something more, but she knows better. 'Nobody comes close to knowing Sasuke's heart like I do, well… almost nobody.' Sakura pushes the smiling face to the back of her mind so that she can focus on her purchase.
Sasuke would not admit it to her, but he had seen that dress hanging in the stand the first time they had walked down the street and had thought she would look very nice wearing it once the weather got warmer. It was good to see her smile, she had been doing so little of that lately, so having to endure some mind numbing shopping for clothes was really worth the price to see her mood improve. Unfortunately, the purchase of that dress would mean that she would pester him even more about taking her on a romantic picnic. At least it would be an excuse to get her away from the village for a while and get some peace and quiet, or least as much as he could get with Sakura around talking almost incessantly about her work at the hospital.
While Sakura is occupied with the vendor, Sasuke scans the crowd and sees the normal mixture of reactions in the faces of the people nearby. Some who recognize him just pause and then alter their course, while others wait till they think he does not notice and glares, some of them glare with fear others with disgust. He does nothing, because that is what they really are to him, nothing. Sakura's raised voice catches his attention and he turns to see her arguing with the woman who owns the little stall.
"Another woman was here earlier and I overheard you price a very similar dress for much less than what you are asking for this one." Sakura raises the dress and points to a few others on the rack.
"You must be mistaken miss." The woman looks down her hawk-like nose at Sakura. "There is no way I could sell you this dress at a lower price." She lifts the material of the dress and holds it up into the lantern light. "This is very good quality fabric and the superiority of the stitching will be hard to find anywhere else. So I cannot go any lower with the price and be able to afford food for my children."
As he walks up Sasuke can see the woman's eyes narrow almost defiantly as he comes up to stand beside Sakura. "Is there a problem here Sakura?" He ignores the old woman as if she was not even present and focuses his gaze on Sakura, trying to calm her with his presence.
Sakura notices the look that the vendor gives Sasuke and the reason for the price difference quickly becomes clear. 'She is just like so many other people in the village, completely unwilling to let go of the past and give Sasuke a chance to show that he really wants to be a part of this village again. They treat him like they did Naruto when he was growing up, like at any moment he is going to betray us and try to destroy the whole village.' She feels her free hand clinch into a fist, wanting to smash the whole stall into splinters. 'Why, why can't people just let go… and be happy? Now that I have watched how they treat Sasuke, and even me sometimes for being his girlfriend, I finally understand just how miserable Naruto's childhood must have truly been. At least Sasuke knows why they are acting so stupid, but Naruto was completely oblivious of why he was hated by people for so much of his life. I can't even begin to imagine how hard that must have been for him as a child, and how much he must have wanted someone to give him some attention other than anger.' She can feel her eyes moisten in guilt and at the frustration of it all. Just as she was about to give into that terrible impulse to destroy the entire stall in retribution, her anger suddenly turns to shock as Sasuke throws some money onto the table.
"Here, this should cover the cost of the dress and that green scarf over there as well?" He nods his head towards a bright emerald green silk scarf draped on a nearby hanger. When the woman pulls down the scarf and holds it towards a now smiling Sakura he just nods in approval. "Wrap them both up." He glances over at Sakura, no hint of any emotion across his face. "You said something about wanting to catch up with Ino and the others, well if we are going to find them before the fireworks begin we should get going."
As they walk away Sakura bumps Sasuke and gives him a curious look. "You know that you seriously overpaid for my dress and that scarf, Sasuke-kun?" She gives him a light peck on the cheek and smirks as she leaves the barest pink imprint of her lips behind. 'Good, my territory is sufficiently marked.'
Sasuke just shrugs and gives her a mocking smirk. "Retribution and vengeance is my mantle to wear, not yours Sakura. Besides, overpaying for the dress and scarf was cheaper than having to buy a new stall for that old woman." Sasuke looks away pretending to take notice of a nearby street performer just in case any hint of a smirk might show on his face and betray that he was joking rather than being serious.
Sakura gasps at his accusation and glares at him as she gives his arm a pinch hard enough that even his normally stoic demeanor could not hide his winch of discomfort. "That's not funny and you know it Sasuke-kun. She was being mean because…"
"Hn, I know why she was doing it, but I was not going to give her the satisfaction of knowing she insulted you because of me, and made you walk away angry because she was being a bitch. I made her an offer that the only way she could refuse was to admit that she was jacking up the price on purpose. This way you both win, you got the dress you wanted plus the scarf you were eyeing. She got to make us overpay a little and not get smashed into a pulp."
She rubs the spot she had just pinched soothingly and rewards him by kissing the now most likely bruised flesh to make it all better, wishing that everyone else would take the time to get to know this part of Sasuke. 'Part of it is his own fault really, he doesn't want people to see him as weak and so he hides behind that dark uncaring exterior. Everyone was affected by the last war, and even though people have been told who the true architect of the war was, they really can't let go of what clan was the instrument being used to start the war.' Sakura gives him a loving squeeze hoping that it won't take generations for people to let go of their hatred. 'Naruto is right about how the cycle of hatred needs to end. I just hope it can be stopped or my children may one day have to endure similar glares of mistrust and hatred.' She can't help but look down at her feet as the now familiar ache in her heart throbs as she thinks again about her old teammate and his dream.
A little later, as they continue walking through the festival a very familiar shout of disappointment can be heard cutting its way through the din of the crowd. Sakura's heart skips a couple beats at hearing that voice and she immediately starts scanning the crowd for the voices owner. A nervous chill runs through her body as she at first sees her friends standing around a goldfish game, and in their midst she catches the golden flash of hair of the person she had been seeking all night. At any other time she would have laughed at seeing him hunched over playing a children's game, but this was not just any other time and it would hopefully allow her to finally get close without him noticing her presence till it was too late.
Sakura swallows hard and strains to slow the now frantic beating of her heart. 'Okay, you can do this Sakura. Just go up and say 'hi' to Ino and then look down at Naruto with a smile like you had not seen him there before. He will look back at you with that dumb grin of his, like he always has, and then you can apologize to him about what happened. Afterwards he will scratch the back of his head and say that it was no big deal and then he will invite me to have some stupid ramen for lunch tomorrow so we can talk like old times. It will be just that simple.' She looks down at the ground and utters a silent prayer. 'Kami, please let it be that simple.'
She looks down and adjusts the jade green kimono with a red floral design she is wearing and pulls out a mirror she has hidden up one of her sleeves, to make sure that her hair and makeup are still perfect. After Ino had told her that Naruto would be at the festival tonight with Hinata she had put a lot of thought into her outfit selection, plus her hair and makeup. She had done everything to draw a person's attention, a certain person actually, towards her eyes in hopes that if she can make eye contact then she can hold his attention long enough for them to finally talk. Fortunately, Sasuke had not really wanted to come to the festival and so had not complained on how long it took her to get ready.
Since the end of the war she has let her hair grow longer, down past the top of her shoulders, and tonight she has styled her hair to frame her face perfectly. She looks into the nervous eyes of the young woman in the small mirror and silently tells her that she cannot let her fears stop her tonight. 'This is your chance to finally make it happen and be happy, so don't fail us dammit.' She takes a deep breath and uses the technique Sasuke has taught her to lower her already suppressed chakra levels to almost nothing, just in case Naruto was somehow keeping watch for certain chakras.
Sasuke too had heard Naruto's voice and had been watching Sakura's reaction ever since. Whether she could feel it or not, he could see that she was trembling like a newborn calf. He is surprised with himself that he feels more than a little jealous as he watches Sakura nervously check her kimono and adjusts her hair like some schoolgirl preparing for her first date. 'Finally, these two can talk and resolve whatever is going on between them and she'll stop acting strangely every time someone mentions his name or something will remind her of him, like the time I caught her staring up at a clear blue sky with tears in her eyes.'
At the start of their date, when he had taken her hand, Sasuke had noticed that she was using the technique he had learned to help stay hidden during those years away from the village, to suppress her chakra greatly. He had said nothing in hopes that his hunch about why she was using the technique was correct. Instead he had slowly suppressed his own as they were walking along tonight and now that she was again suppressing her signature even further he followed suit. 'So I was right, this was her plan the whole time, we would walk around the festival looking for Naruto and hope to catch him unaware. If she had just said something I could have found him for her in an instant, instead of wasting time walking around this stupid festival. I guess she was afraid I would start asking questions again.' He shrugs because she is probably right that he would ask her again about what happened between her and Naruto while he was in prison.
Sakura walks towards Ino, rubbing her left arm absently, and puts on a smile that she hopes covers just how scared she really is feeling. 'Kami thank you for finally allowing me the chance to talk with Naruto.' Just as she was about to call out to Ino a pair of pale lavender eyes blocks her view and stops her cold. Standing there between her and her target was Hinata, her arms stretched out protectively as if to block Sakura from getting any closer to Naruto.
Hinata is watching Naruto try, with no success, to win the prize for Moegi as she notices Ino waving and looks over to see that Sakura and Sasuke are not too far away. She watches as the pink-haired girl adjusts her hair and clothes in preparation to come over, the whole time Sakura's green eyes constantly flicker towards where Naruto is kneeling. 'What does Sakura think she is going to do, is she going to try to corner Naruto-kun and confront him right here in public? No, I won't let her hurt him again. I will not allow her to put him on the spot and potentially embarrass him in front of all of our friends.'
Sakura stops in mid-step as she sees the promise of violence in the eyes of the kindest person she has ever known. 'Would she really attack me if I get closer? Well, she could try but Neji isn't here to protect her anymore and Sasuke-kun would not let her lay a palm on me anyways. Besides what does she think she is going to accomplish by getting in my way? He was my teammate dammit and I have every right to talk with him anytime I want.' Sakura takes another step forward but stops again when Hinata's body shifts to the gentle fist fighting stance, her byakugan now activated, as if she is preparing to protect Naruto at the cost of her life, or Sakura's if that is what it takes.
With her byakugan now activated Hinata can see that both Sakura and Sasuke's chakra levels are heavily suppressed. 'So that is their plan, to try and sneak up and catch Naruto-kun by surprise, instead of approaching him openly.' She glances over for a second to look into Sasuke's eyes to see if it looks like she will have to protect Naruto from both of his old teammates. What she sees in his eyes is surprise and something else, but not frustration or any intention of potential violence like she can see in Sakura's eyes.
Konohamaru, seeing that a fight may be about to break out between Naruto's date and his old teammate, reaches out to get the blond haired boy's attention. His hand is stopped by Hanabi who shakes her head slowly from side to side. He watches as the young Hyuga looks at the others with a glare that warns everyone not to interfere.
Hanabi, still not understanding why her sister does not like the famous student of the Hokage, does not really care why at this moment. She only knows that if her sister is worried enough to act like this publically to protect Naruto-kun, then she will too. Also, she was outside the main house earlier waiting to surprise Naruto in her new kimono, when she heard him talking to Ko and heard Naruto's promise of violence if anyone was to try and harm Hinata or herself tonight. The sound of his voice when he made that promise was scary to hear, and was hard to believe that his gentle voice could sound so menacing. By the time the shock had worn off he had already gone into the house, but now she worries that if he did get involved in the girl's fight, the problem might only get worse and they might all end up in trouble. She only hopes that her usually peaceful sister will find a way to avoid starting a fight. 'She has activated her byakugan, but she has not poured chakra into her palms yet, so she does not want to resort to violence, yet.' She glances over nervously at the hunched figure of Naruto, silently begging him to stay focused on the game at to not notice the drama taking place not so far away.
Kiba, who normally enjoys watching a good catfight between two girls, looks from Hanabi to Hinata and then over to a shocked Ino and makes a critical, maybe relationship altering decision. 'If that's the way little sis wants to play this out, then that is how it will be played. He notices Naruto's body stiffen and his head starting to turn towards where Hinata is now standing. 'Damn, he probably can sense that something has suddenly changed. What a pain in the ass time for him to not be totally clueless.' Kiba makes a gesture and Akumaru lets out a loud bark right into Naruto's face. "Dammit Naruto, Akumaru is right, you almost had the stupid fish that time, you need to focus on the damn game, we don't have all night to waste watching you continue failing." Kiba lets out a sigh of relief as a startled Naruto turns back to the game.
Naruto shakes his head as he tries to refocus on catching the stupid fish without breaking the tiny paper net. 'I could have sworn that I felt Hinata's chakra suddenly spike, maybe she was just trying to get a closer look at the game or something. If there was anything wrong Hanabi is right beside me and she would tell if there was a problem.' Somewhat assured that nothing was wrong he focuses on getting that damn fish for Udon. 'Stupid paper nets, why can't we use real nets instead?'
Tenten cannot believe what she is witnessing here on the eve of a new year. 'Why did this have to happen right when everything was going so well?' She reaches up the sleeves of her kimono and fingers one of the small scrolls she has hidden there just in case of an emergency. 'Damn, if these two go at it then all hell is probably going to break loose. I really don't have anything with me to stop a catfight between two powerful kunoichi without potentially hurting them in the process.' She begins looking around for a way to diffuse the situation without getting Naruto involved and looks over at Shino who gives her a nod as if to say that he has her back. She watches as he slowly lifts his hands in preparation of releasing a swarm of his special insects to protect his teammate. 'Well, that puts the numbers on Hinata's side, but if Sasuke decides to jump in then all bets are off. This could get bad, like really bad.'
Seeing Hinata standing there defiantly Sakura narrows her eyes in irritation. 'Oh so she wants a fight? I'll be more than happy to oblige her wish if that is what it is going to take to talk with Naruto.' Sakura clenches her fist and is about to release her chakra to meet Hinata head on when she feels Sasuke firmly grab her arm. She turns to see him looking sternly at her, shaking his head. She turns back to look past Hinata to catch another glimpse of Naruto's blonde hair and feels her heart ache at missing her chance. Sakura looks back at Sasuke, her eyes angrily pleading for help. "Please." Is all she can say before her throat closes up in anguish and silences her voice.
He gestures with his head off to the side and as she looks Sakura can see two more members of the Hyuga clan standing nearby looking as if they were preparing to jump to the heiress aide. Now that she looks beyond Hinata she can also see that their friends are watching her and Hinata with great concern. She understands that Sasuke is right, and that starting a fight in the street with Hinata will accomplish nothing but create more problems for everyone. 'The moment we start fighting I'll have to stop suppressing my chakra and if he is paying attention he will be able to sense me instantly. What would happen next I have no idea, but seeing me pounding Hinata into the ground would probably not improve the situation, or his mood to talk with me again.' She clutches the bag with her new dress to her chest and runs away with tears falling from her eyes. 'Damn it Hinata.'
As Sakura runs past him, Sasuke looks at Hinata and surprises everyone by giving her an amused smirk. 'So the little kitten has become a lioness at last.' He glances towards Naruto's back and gives a sneer that might actually have been a smirk. 'I don't know if you realize it or not, but I think you are going to have your hands full one day, dobe. Just try not to screw things up too badly.' He walks away to go find Sakura before she gets too far, or hurts somebody that doesn't get out of her way quickly enough.
Hinata keeps her byakugan activated till she is sure that Sakura is not going to come back, which is when uncertainty begins to fill her heart. Did she do the right thing? When she tells Naruto later what she has done, will he be relieved that he was not cornered by Sakura in front of everyone, or upset that he missed his chance to make peace. 'He did not want to see Sakura outside the ramen shop just before my birthday, so… Oh please Kami let me have made the right decision tonight. I cannot bear the thought of him being angry at me for what I have done. I only did what I thought was right.' She fights back the tears that threaten to ruin her makeup, which Naruto will undoubtedly notice and force her to tell him the truth and possibly ruin not only their date, but everything. 'Why can't you just leave him alone Sakura, haven't you done enough?'
Hinata is pulled out of her thoughts as Ino grabs her arm and spins her around. "What the hell was that all about?" Ino says in a whispering tone that comes out more like a hiss. "I don't know what happened between them, but I am tired of Sakura's sulking and the rest of us tip toeing around both of them. Why the hell did you chase off my best friend, Hinata?"
Her fears forgotten for the moment, Hinata straightens up and stares Ino directly in the eyes with a stone face glare that would make her father proud to see on his heir's face. "I won't let her hurt him again."
Ino, not backing down from the surprisingly aggressive Hinata, starts wagging a finger in front of the girl's face. "She doesn't want to hurt him. This could have been the moment to fix… whatever the hell happened and you had to go and mess up the whole plan. Why couldn't you, just one last time, have been the shy wallflower that watches Naruto and Sakura interact from a distance, like you were when we were kids?"
Tenten steps between her two friends, trying to stop the argument before it escalates into something that both girls would later regret. "You are both kind of right, okay." She looks gently at Hinata and speaks calmly. "We all want the old gang back together, Hinata. It is tough on all of us to have to sometimes split our time between our friends. It's easy for you since all you want to do is spend time with Naruto, but this can't go on forever. He wants to be Hokage one day, so they are going to have to talk eventually."
She turns to Ino with a more firm expression. "You have not seen him when people just mention her name around him, have you Ino? That was stupid for Sakura to try and corner him in public like that, okay. A confrontation in the middle of a crowded street might have gone really badly. Naruto and Sasuke always seem to find an excuse to argue and fight every time they are around each other, and with Sakura adding fuel to that constant flame it could have been really bad." Tenten steps closer to Ino, trying not to upset Hinata, she whispers her next words. "Do you not remember the last time Naruto got in a street brawl in the village? Do you really want to risk that again, but this time with Sasuke instead of Rock Lee, because we both know that if Hinata and Sakura had started a fight, he and Naruto would have most assuredly finished that fight." Tenten could feel herself shaking, from fear or frustration she was not sure, maybe both.
Ino and Hinata step back from each other thinking on their friends words and whatever they were about to say to each other is suddenly drowned out by the victory shout coming from the goldfish game. They all turn to see Udon holding up a container with the special goldfish inside.
The game master looks down at the boy, clearly not happy. "He did not do it by himself, the other boy helped."
Naruto stands up, rolls back the sleeve of his right arm and shakes a fist at the man. "I did not, I was chasing the damn fish with my hoop when it swam right into his, so pay up old man." Naruto gives his best, 'You really don't want to mess with me,'glare to the games master.
Kiba shoulders his way closer to stand between Udon and Naruto. "I was standing here and watched the whole thing. The kid got the fish and that was the objective. There is no rule stating anything else, besides these two paid enough to buy three or four stuffed tigers. So just pay up, old man." Akumaru gives out a loud bark to emphasize Kiba's request.
Kiba and Naruto's not so quiet voices, along with the help of Akumaru's bark, draws attention to the plight of a young boy trying to win a prize for a girl and people walking by begin to take notice. Knowing when it was best to concede before the crowd turns against him, the games master reaches up, pulls down the tiger and hands it to Udon. "Alright, you won your prize. So just take it and don't come back, any of you." He turns and walks to the back of his stall, looking closely at the fish Udon had caught and returned for his prize.
After Udon reaches over the stuffed tiger to a smiling Moegi he looks up at Naruto. "Thanks for your help Naruto. I don't think that I could have caught it without you being here tonight."
Naruto pats Udon on the shoulder. "I don't know what you are talking about. I was trying to catch that stupid fish, I wanted to get something really nice for Hinata since I bought Hanabi something already. I can't help it if that dumb fish swam right into a more skilled player's net." He holds his hands up in mock resignation. "I guess I will have to find something else to get Hinata."
Hinata steps up and wraps herself possessively around one of Naruto's arms and shakes her head. "I already told you that you don't need to get me anything Naruto-kun. You bought me the ramen special for dinner tonight, remember, and I am happy that we got have dinner together."
He looks over at Hinata with a smirk. "Really, are you sure?"
She just nods and leans closer against his arm and whispers. "I already told you what I really want, and besides it is almost time for the fireworks to start. I would not want to miss seeing them with you for any gift." She stops, to slightly wiggle the fingers of her left hand,while thinking to herself about the one gift that might be worth missing the fireworks for and blushes a little. 'One day, I hope.'
"Oh yeah, it is nearly that time." He looks over at Hanabi and then back to Hinata. "I have someplace special lined up for viewing the fireworks tonight. How about you Konohamaru, you want to join us to watch the show?" He then looks at his gathered friends. "There should be room for all of us if you want to come along."
Tenten glances over at Shino, and then looks shyly over at a smiling Hinata, before answering. "Shino has asked me to watch the show with him at the Aburame compound tonight, besides more than one couple sitting and watching the fireworks together is too many." She looks at Hanabi with her last comment and gives her a wink.
Hanabi is caught off guard by her sensei's comment and quickly glances at a wide-eyed Konohamaru, then turns her head away angrily. 'We are not a couple and I wish people would quit assuming that because Naruto asked him to come along, and keep me compnay ,that we are somehow a couple now.'
Konohamaru blushes slightly and turns his head away at the same time and does not see the unhappy glare in Hanabi's eyes. His gaze falls on his teammates, Moegi and Udon, before looking down at the ground sighing. 'Man, I am going to get bombarded with questions tomorrow.'
Kiba just shakes his head at Naruto's offer. "Nope, I have made other plans with Ino for watching the fireworks tonight, just the three of us right Akumaru?" After ninkin gives a happy bark Kiba gives them a smile that is directed at Hinata. "Besides, Ino basically told me that I should have just left you guys alone on your first date. I am sorry for that you two."
"I already told you weeks ago that I am not upset with you, okay. I had been very busy and should have been making more time for my teammates, so it was good to have you there for my birthday." Hinata raises an eyebrow. "Though, I agree with Ino that you did have too much to drink that night and you should be more careful or you will ruin your health."
Ino lightly slaps Kiba on the shoulder and gives him the universal girlfriend 'see I told you so' look. He just lowers his head knowing that he has just been scolded by not only his slightly over-controlling girlfriend, but by somebody who only says what is in her heart. "Alright, I promise to do better, after tonight." He then looks up defiantly. "But I will still drink on special occasions and when I want to celebrate something, and when something is bothering me, and..."
Ino just rolls her eyes and Hinata just giggles in reply.