Hey guys! Bit of a shorter chapter this time. It's mostly a setup for the next couple of chapters, but I hope you enjoy it just the same. The way things are going right now, I'm thinking that this story will have 10 chapters and an epilogue, so we're almost there! Oh, and I have reviewers to thank again! You all get digital donuts, so enjoy!

UchihaKyoko- I know what you mean. It breaks my heart doing this to Kiba, too... but I hope you're still enjoying it!

Rose Tiger- Yes, the tension is certainly building. I hope this chapter answers some of your questions.

freshman007- I can't thank you enough for pointing out my lack of scene changes. I guess it translate from word as nicely as I had hoped. So, yeah, you're a life saver!

Maki-Zushi- Glad you enjoyed it!

Now on with the chapter!

Chapter 7

As Naruto pulled back out of his kiss with Hinata, he felt oddly at ease. Sure, his heart was throbbing from the awkward excitement of his first kiss, but his mind wasn't racing anymore. All of his doubts, his concerns, and those guilty reminders of Kiba had vanished as soon as his lips met those of his beloved Hyuuga.

It had been everything he had imagined, that kiss. To be honest, he had only really thought about it a few seconds before the actual event, but even so… it had been special. It wasn't perfect by any means, of course. Naruto hadn't exactly prepared for it or anything, so he wasn't sure just what he was supposed to do. Was there some sort of etiquette? What was he supposed to do with his hands? Maybe there was, like, a code or something that girls picked up on…

Naruto could sense, though, that Hinata didn't really care if it was perfect. He had been afraid that she would push him away or something, but instead she had pulled him closer, encouraged him in their very public display of affection. That's probably what made the moment so special for Naruto; not that it was his first kiss, not that it was with the girl he loved, but the fact that Hinata had wanted it. That she wasn't just following along nervously, as she was prone to do, but actually kissed him back, as if she had been waiting her entire life for their lips to finally meet.

Now that he had shared that moment with Hinata, Naruto could not help but wonder how he had managed to go so long without having her in his life. That was the blonde's predominating thought as he stood there in the middle of Ichiraku, staring down at the wide-eyed Hyuuga in admiration. Why hadn't he noticed her before? She had always been there, always trying to talk to him, to get him to notice her… and he just ignored her. Well, not ignored… he was always friendly to her… but he never acknowledged her feelings for her. All that time he could have been with the greatest girl in the world, and he was too busy chasing after Sakura…

He stood there like that for a moment, locking eyes with Hinata as other customers tried to skirt around him. There was no need to say anything, as they could easily tell what was going through the other's mind. Thus, instead of diminishing the power of that precious moment, Naruto simply smiled his warm smile and nodded his head towards the door.

"Well, shall we get going then?"

"Oh, s-sure, Naruto," Hinata replied as she let her hands fall from the blonde's side.

After leaving a few bills on the table, Naruto threw his arm over the Hyuuga's shoulder and together they exited the restaurant into the pouring rain. Before they could get wet, however, they quickly backed up under the building's large awning, and stared out into the storm.

"You didn't happen to bring an umbrella, did you?" Naruto asked sheepishly, looking to the pale girl beside him.

"Oh, shoot! I knew I forgot something!" Hinata said in a pouting voice. "I meant to bring your umbrella back today…"

"Well, no matter," Naruto interrupted cheerfully, "We'll just have to run to my apartment. If we hurry we should be fine."

"T-that's what you said last time…" the Hyuuga replied in a worried tone.

The blonde flinched slightly at the memory of their eventful walk home from school. "Yeah… but this time I mean it, okay?"

Hinata hesitated a second, staring up into the blonde's bright, sincere eyes before giving a slight nod. "Alright, if you say so, Naruto…"

"Great! Then let's go!"

With that, the vulpine boy grabbed Hinata by the wrist and rushed out into the rain, dragging the baffled Hyuuga behind him. Together they rushed through the empty city streets, the rainwater sloshing at their feet as they went. Before long, the couple had arrived outside the familiar apartment, Naruto with his key in hand. Much to the blonde's surprise, however, the door was already unlocked, causing him to open the door rather tentatively.

"Kiba? You here?" Naruto asked as he stepped inside the apartment.

"YOU BASTARD!"

Naruto barely had time to even notice the body moving before it pounced, sending both of the tumbling out onto the hard cement. Having bumped his head on landing, it took the blonde a moment to snap out of his daze and recognize his attacker.

"Kiba? What the hell's wr-"

"Shut up! Just shut your fucking mouth, alright?!" the dog-boy exclaimed, grabbing Naruto by the collar and pulling him up to his face. "Just who the hell do you think you are, Naruto? Huh? TELL ME!"

Naruto stared at the Inuzuka in utter confusion, the rain pouring on his face. "Kiba, I-I don't know what you're talking about…"

"That's a fucking lie!" Kiba shouted as he punched the blonde in the face, causing a stream of blood to run from the corner of his mouth. "You know goddamn well what I'm talking about, Naruto! You knew I was crazy about her! Why'd you…"

As the blood trickled down his chin, Naruto stared at his assailant in shock as bitter tears formed in the dog-boy's eyes. "You mean… at Ichiraku… you were there?"

"Yeah, that's right, I saw the whole damn thing," Kiba muttered with a menacing glare. "Did you think I wouldn't find out? That I was too stupid to realize what was going on? Is that what you think of me, Naruto?"

"Kiba, I swear…"

"I said shut the hell up!" the Inuzuka shouted, pushing the blonde back onto the concrete as he rose to his feet. "After all those years I stood by you, Naruto, I asked you for just one thing. Just one: set me up with the girl of my dreams. That was all, and you went and stole her from me! Well, I see where I stand now. I hope you're happy, you fucking traitor…"

With that, Kiba gave the blonde a final kick in side before storming off in the opposite direction, unfazed by the pouring rain. By the time Naruto had recovered from this parting blow, the dog-boy was long gone, leaving only him and a terrified Hinata in the middle of the complex.

"Kiba…" the Hyuuga murmured as she stared off into the distance, hoping to catch a glimpse of the enraged Inuzuka.

"Forget about him, Hinata," Naruto said as he rose to his feet, wiping some of the blood from his face. "Let's just go inside."

"I-I'm sorry, Naruto," Hinata replied, shaking her head vigorously. "I can't stay. I-I… I'm supposed to meet with Neji…"

With that, the pale Hyuuga took off running, pushing Naruto slightly to the side as she went past. The blonde was so perplexed by all that had happened that he never even thought to chase after her; instead, he simply stood there in the storm, his former bliss now shattered in pieces around him.

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Hinata, you're such an idiot!

As she made her way through the rainy Konoha streets, Hinata Hyuuga repeated this over and over in her mind, until she soon found herself practically shouting it out at the people she passed. Not that she cared; in fact, she almost wanted them to be angry with her, to hate her almost as much as she hated herself. What had she been thinking, letting Naruto kiss her like that? She should've just run away… just pretend like she wanted nothing to do with him.

But no, she had to give in to that stupid heart of hers… if she had just stopped to think, she would've remembered that she was only going to hurt Naruto. That she couldn't possibly be with him, that she was selfish even wanting to be with him. As usual, though, when she looked into Naruto's eyes, all of Hinata's logic went out the window, replaced only by that desire to be with the blonde.

And what good had come of that? None! All she did was destroy one of Naruto's greatest friendships. He sacrificed that for her… and it was only a matter of time before he lost her as well.

I can't do this to him anymore. It's… it's not fair! I have to end this before it gets any worse…

It did not take Hinata long to arrive at the Hyuuga estate. The guards quickly opened the gates for the shivering girl as she ran past, heading straight for the mansion. Even when Hinata finally entered the building and was greeted by her cousin, Neji, she did not so much as glance at him, but instead sprinted up the stairs to her lavish room.

In spite of her cold, soaked clothing, Hinata bypassed a warm shower and marched across the room to her bookshelf. There she found her diary and yearbook, which she proceeded to open side-by-side on the bedspread with a somewhat frightening determination.

Don't think about it, Hinata! Just do it!

Without a moment's hesitation, the pale Hyuuga began to claw at the books, tearing out clumps of pages at a time in rapid succession. As threw each tattered page over her shoulder, Hinata continued to stare blankly at those still intact, tears streaming down her face.

I have to get rid of him. No evidence. Naruto never existed. You never loved him. He never loved you. He's not even a memory…

The job was complete far sooner than Hinata had expected. In a matter of minutes, all that lay before her were two empty covers, and strewn about her were the remains of what had been love poems, musings, pictures, dreams… all of her years of devotion to that blonde. With this work behind her, the Hyuuga proceeded to walk around the room, picking up the tiny scraps of paper and tossing them into a bag. She didn't bother to look at any of them… they were meaningless to her now. If she was going to live with herself, she had to kill off any lingering feelings she might have for… him.

Once the ground was cleared of all the litter, however, and had been placed into the trash, Hinata collapsed onto the bed in her sopping-wet clothes, fighting to hold back the tears. This struggle was brief, though, and soon she found herself crying softly as the storm raged outside.

Why? Why does it have to be so hard? Why can't I just forget you… Naruto…

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Shikamaru Nara sat in the living room of his small apartment, gazing idly at the blank television set before him. On the floor a few feet away sat the remote control, but Shikamaru was in no mood to move. For a second he tried to grab it with his foot, only to find that it would require a bit too much stretching to reach. Thus, rather than fight the battle against the stubborn remote any longer, the lazy genius lay back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling.

As soon as the Nara became comfortable in his little bed of cushions and throw pillows, however, there was a sudden knock at the door, momentarily interrupting his relaxation. Shikamaru decided to ignore the visitor, choosing to cup his hands over his ears rather than actually get off the couch. Even when the knocking persisted, the lazy genius remained rooted to his cushioned paradise, and only stirred when a voice accompanied the incessant pounding.

"Shikamaru! I know you're in there! Just open the door you lazy bastard!"

Kiba? What's he doing here?

With an annoyed sigh, Shikamaru groggily rose off the couch and threw open the apartment door to find a rain soaked Kiba standing with an unusually serious look on his face.

"Hey," the dog-boy said in a sober tone, "Mind if I come in?"

"Yeah, sure," Shikamaru replied, stepping to the side as the Inuzuka came in out of the rain. Once he had shut the door tight, however, the Nara was quick to confront his friend. "So, you and Naruto have a fight?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Kiba said with a weak laugh. "I was hoping I could, you know… stay here for a couple of days. Is that okay?"

Troublesome…

"Yeah, you can sleep on the couch or something, I guess," Shikamaru sighed, "You'd better take a shower first, though. If I get sick because you forgot an umbrella, I might have to kill you."

Kiba glanced down at his sopping wet clothes for a moment before realizing that something was missing. "Sorry, Shikamaru, but I kinda left in a hurry, do you think I could…"

"Don't worry, I'll lay out some dry clothes for you," the lazy genius interrupted, "You just go warm up, alright?"

The Inuzuka gave a quick nod before heading towards the bathroom, leaving Shikamaru standing in the entryway with a slight headache. What had he gotten himself into now? Sure, he was happy to help his friend out, but he could tell already that this was far more serious than Kiba was letting on. Never had Shikamaru seen the dog-boy this visibly shaken. No, it was more than just shaken… he seemed lost, confused, but most of all hurt. Hell, he hadn't even brought Akamaru, and those two were never separated. What could Naruto have done to make Kiba react so drastically?

Of course, if he could just talk to Kiba about it, Shikamaru was sure that he would figure it out in no time. He knew that doing so was out of the question, though. Kiba was clearly not stable at the moment. He came to Shikamaru's to think things over for himself, not to have the situation thrust upon him again. Maybe he could talk to Naruto about it… no, that wouldn't work either. As much as the Nara hated to admit it, he knew it was best to just wait until Kiba was ready to open up about this fight.

Hearing the shower running from inside the bathroom, Shikamaru decided to temporarily push this problem to the side and make Kiba's comfort his top priority. Thus, the lazy genius found himself walking to his room, where he quickly got out a set of clothes for his guest.

Let's see… t-shirt, boxers, sweatpants… that should be good enough for now, I guess.

Balancing the selected items on one hand, Shikamaru made his way back to the bathroom, where he placed the clothes just outside the door. With this simple (but troublesome) deed done, the Nara soon returned to his room, where he plopped back down on his messy bed.

Kiba'll be fine… I just need to get to sleep now, before this whole Naruto business drives me crazy…

Of course, it did not take very long for Shikamaru to clear his head, and soon he had fallen into a deep sleep, putting off the fight between Kiba and Naruto for another day.

Yay, we finally got to see Shikamaru again! I love that guy, I really do. Anyway, this entire love triangle has become utter chaos. What's going to happen? Find out in chapter 8 of The Fox and the Hound!