Forget chapter "9", this was way more fun to write. Most of Hinata's emotions came straight from my experiences, so it was really easy to put everything into words.

Thnks fr th REVIEWS! (lol, silly me)

I do not own the "You Can't Rollerskate In A Buffalo Herd" lyrics. They belong to Roger Miller. Nor do I own the characters of Naruto. They belong to some guy with the initials of "MK". You sould know. (I totally forgot how to spell his name! DX )

Chapter 11, because the preceding chapter was chapter 10

Hinata slowed to a walk only half a block down.

Should she go back? Apologize?

She decided against it. That would make her seem worse than she already was by running away.

Part of her felt like she was "betraying" Naruto. It wasn't like she was cheating on him… he didn't even know she liked him or not, and doubtlessly never would. What was wrong with her?

It could be that she disliked the idea of giving up. She would be giving up on her crush, if that made any sense. Possibly that she didn't want to be a waste.

That was it. Right on the dot. She used up 3 years of her life caring about him, if she decided to throw it all away and move on, she would feel horrible about wasting so much time, time that she could have spent to make something out of her life. Failure. She wasn't ready for that.

Tenderly touching her lips, she relived the moment Kiba kissed her. Or was it she who kissed Kiba? She didn't know. She didn't care. Regardless of who kissed who first, it was great. The patches of skin Kiba had come in contact with were comfortably warm, like her cheeks when she was around…

"Hinataaaaa!"

Naruto.

If his amimated cry didn't instantaneously give him away, the sound of his eager pounding feet would.

He caught up to the dark-haired girl without any trouble.

"H-Hello Naruto," Hinata said quietly. The two began walking side by side.

"Hinata, I've been wondering…" his big blue eyes looked up at her, inquiring.

"G-go ahead," she answered.

"You're good friend with Sakura, am I right?"

Hinata nodded.

"And I was… I was thinking…"

Here we go.

"…about asking her out…"

Oh no.

"…maybe getting her something…"

Keep a straight face now.

"…what sort of stuff is she into?"

"Sh-she," Hinata's voice cracked, "sh-she likes cute things, p-puppies a-and flowers...y-you know..." she trailed off, hoping Naruto got the idea. What he got Sakura was hardly significant. As long as it was from him, Sakura would be happy. Hinata realized it. Keeping her mouth shut heightened her observational skills.

"Thanks Hinata! You're an awesome friend."

Friend. Buddy. Pal. Was that it?

"Y-you're w-welcome," she had a hard time keeping herself from crying. But she managed. She had to.

"Well, here's my stop," they stood at a T in the street. Hinata's house was to the left.

"Bye, Hinata!" she watched him go, marching down the right branch of road.

Was this what Kiba felt like when she had walked away from him? To watch someone leave, and know you can't follow because you care too much to keep them down with your existence. The situation basically leaving you alone, your friend contented. And people around you being happy as a result of something you did should be satisfying. To some.

Halfway to her house (from where Naruto parted), she disintegrated.

Deep tranquil breaths weren't working. Closing her eyes and counting to ten did nothing but make her see Naruto's face. No amount of thinking about a different subject would take her mind off anything, as somehow her thoughts lead her back to where she started – confused and heartbroken.

She glared up at the sky. It was laughing at her. Mocking her. So close to shedding tears, to raining, and never getting there. Was Hinata not good enough?

It started small, with uneven breathing and burning eyes. Then the tears fell. Slowly, one by one by one. Hinata squeezed her mouth shut, trying to stay as quiet as she could.

Almost never did Hinata cry. She sucked it up. It was her way of showing people she was strong. And it usually worked, although the symptom was making her feel emptier than ever.

This time she couldn't help it. Everything at once, crushing her, she needed to find a way for her troubles to find their way out. In this case, it was through her weeping.

The backyard of the Hyuga's house was 95(percent) garden and landscaping. Hinata made an old-fashioned swinging bench in the back corner of the yard her private retreat, and visited it regularly. She had to tend to the garden as her chores anyway, so why not spend her spare time there?

Something only she knew about resided under a tall shady tree. A metal box, painted brown for camouflage.

One of Hinata's methods for restraining her tears was to run away to the garden and write down her thoughts. Normally, they flooded out of her mind in the form of poetry (mostly freeverse), or other sorts of creative writing. Then she stored it in that brown-painted box, away from the rest of the world.

The box was filled with notebook paper, word after word, each one written for Naruto. Incredible how much emotion for one boy could be conjured up in 3 years.

She picked up one of the sheets of paper, silently reading the words to herself, "…do you know / what your smile / does to my soul/ melt like / chocolate / because / I / love / you / and you should know / she / can't make me / lose / my faith in your / beauty / so keep that in mind for / the next time / you ignore me / and make me feel like / shit…"

That was Hinata's personal favorite, written when she was in her jealous stage. She really didn't have the heart to throw any of her work out.

Salty tears had air-dried in no time (it was still windy), she was so engaged in reading she didn't feel like crying anymore. Neither did she notice when the gate to the garden clicked open, then closed, admitting somebody to her sanctuary.

"What's that?"

Hinata flinched at the sudden noise, she stuffed the paper she had been looking at back into the box, slammed the box shut, and flung it over her shoulder, hearing it land the bushes. (not to fear, the lid was magnetic) Yes, yes, yes. Toss it all behind you.

"N-Nothing im-"

The words caught in her throat when she saw who had spoken.

Kiba.

Hinata wanted to cry again.

"Um, Hinata, I came to see if you were ok…"

Truth. No excuses like "You left your pencil" or "I still don't understand this X squared and 2x deal". It made Hinata want to cry even more.

Kiba stepped a bit closer.

"Can I sit?"

"S-sure," Hinata felt the sway of the bench when Kiba laid his weight on it. It was soothing.

"Are you ok?" Kiba repeated. He took her hand, holding it loosely. Then he looked straight into her eyes.

And that was when Hinata cracked.

Tears. There was no use in trying to hold them back. She let them run.

Now, added to her list of worries was "What does Kiba think of me? I'm crying in front of him. He probably thinks I'm weak, or over-emotional, or whiny, or… or… or…"

The brunet boy did the first thing that came to his mind. He brought his hand up and draped it over her shoulder, drawing her sobbing body to his own accepting arms.

"Why?" she choked out, a soft whisper, "Why can't I just be happy?"

Hinata bit her lip. That absolutely counted as whininess, didn't it?

Kiba only smiled, like an old man remembering something wonderful from his childhood.

"There are always gonna be times in life where we aren't happy, and can't get what we want," he said wisely, "The thing is, if you want something, there's nothing stopping you from trying. And once you try you're a step closer." He hated how he sounded like a calendar, with clever yet clichéd quotes about life for each month. Nevertheless, Hinata needed to know.

What he did next… well, surprise would be an understatement.

He began to sing.

Loud.

"You can't roller-skate in a buffalo herd, you can't roller-skate in a buffalo herd, you can't roller-skate in a buffalo herd," he bent over, resting his head on hers, his mouth at her ear, "but you can be happy if you've a mind to."

Hinata, wonderfully cheerful, sniffed and laughed at the same time, producing more of a snort.

Kiba was delighted to have made Hinata giggle. So delighted, in fact...

"Verse two! You can't take a shower in a parakeet cage, you can't take a shower in a parakeet cage, you can't take a shower in a parakeet caaaaaaaaaaaage…"

Totally laughing, Hinata joined in.

"But you can be happy if you've a mind to!"

They shared fits of laughter.

"Verse th –"

Hinata stopped Kiba's singing.

With her lips.

And he was glad to oblige.

Their kiss was sweet and short. Hinata's way of saying she was sorry and telling Kiba she would give him a chance.

"Thank you, Kiba," she said as they separated.

She let him hold her, and they sat together. They didn't need kisses, or sex, or anything. Lusty things like that didn't make relationships. Love made relationships. Love and security and happiness, and that's what she felt around Kiba. For so long, she had just overlooked it. Naruto was finally behind her, she was able to move on and see things she never noticed before.

Hinata and Kiba could sit in each other's presence forever and ever. Because whenever she was with him, she was happy.

And she wanted to be happy.

I... think that's the end. It's a nice way to finish something off, I guess.

I. Have. Never. Written. Anything. This cheesy. In my life. But that's ok! It was so much fun!

Wow. I am amazed at how much this story has changed from my original plan.

If anyone is wondering, Naruto didn't ask Ino because she was sleeping. (I bet she absorbed some traits from Shikamaru), and Kiba didn't have Akamaru because he dropped him off at his house. How else did you think Hinata had so much time to do everything before he came back?

I may or may not make a sequel. I have a few ideas...

Thanks for reading.

Review now please?

Bye. x3

- jiao