Hinata had taken refuge in a large oak tree. She stared up at the pale full moon that illuminated the night sky, surrounded by stars. Tears flowed freely from her innocent, white eyes. She remembered when she had first met Kiba. He had always been so nice to her...He was a bit rough at times, yes...But he had a heart of gold. He always did what was best for her and never put her in a situation that would bring her harm. She knew why...She had always known that he had a crush on her, but she chose to simply ignore it...She ignored it, because she had her hearts set on someone else- Naruto Uzumaki. But now things were becoming clear. She knew Naruto would probably never notice her- he was too intent on being noticed by Sakura. But Kiba...Kiba paid attention to her. She had grown to like him over the years, too. Not as much as she did Naruto...but it was something.
"Maybe..." she said quietly to herself. "Maybe I would be better off with Kiba...But Shino always says that a relationship within the team would break the entire team...but that's only if the relationship crumbles." She paused for a moment when she heard movement beneath her. Shifting so she could look down through the branches of the tree, she noticed a girl with long white hair.
"Hinata?" she called out. "Hinata, where are you?" Hinata jumped down the branches of the tree and landed behind her.
"I'm here..." she said quietly. "Who...who are you?" The girl smiled.
"My name's Yumina," she said. "Kiba asked me to-"
"Kiba... Is he alright?"
"Yeah, he's fine. He asked me to help look for you...He wants to make sure you're alright. He wants you to come back to the camp, so you don't get hurt during the night." Hinata smiled weakly.
"He's always thinking of what's best for everyone else..." Yumina smiled as well.
"Yeah...he's always been like that."
"Oh...? How long have you known him?"
"All my life," Yumina replied. "I'm... Well, it's hard to explain. See, I come from...a branch of the Inuzuka clan. Sure, I don't look like one, and I don't have the same name...but my mom was an Inuzuka. She was also Kiba's mother... She married another guy after leaving Kiba's dad, and the guy she married wasn't an Inuzuka. Our mom died...and he forced me to use his name instead of my mom's." Hinata sighed.
"So...you're his sister then?"
"Half-sister, but yeah. Why?"
"Then...maybe...I could get you to tell him something for me?"
"I think you should tell him yourself," Yumina replied with a smile. "Come on, let's get back to the camp." She and Hinata slowly walkedback to the campsite.
Upon arriving at the campsite, they noticed that Shikamaru and Isuma were gone. Yumina walked up and sat next to Seikara by the fire. Chouji was asleep by the fire, his bag of chips gripped tightly in his left hand. Ino was asleep nearby Seikara.
"Where's Isuma?" she asked.
"She and Shikamaru went into the woods, down to the lake. They said that they both wanted to look at the stars for a while." Yumina giggled.
"I have a feeling I know where it might lead to," she said. Seikara smiled.
"Probably...but let's leave them to it, eh?" Yumina nodded.
"Did you find Hinata?" Kiba asked worriedly.
"Yeah, she's-"
"I'm here...Kiba..." Hinata said softly, sitting next to him. He smiled.
"Hinata, you're alright..." he said.
"Yes, I'm fine..." Silence rested over the camp for a few minutes. "I've been thinking..." she started in again.
"About what?" Kiba asked.
"Well...about what you said earlier..." Kiba's face turned a light shade of red.
"Oh...that...Well, I-eh..." he stuttered, embarrassed.
"Well..." she sighed. "I...I realize...finally...that Naruto will probably never notice me...And that you give me more attention than he ever will..." Kiba's eyes widened slightly.
"Hinata, are you...are you trying to say...?" he began to ask, but stopped when he noticed that tears were once again flowing slowly from her eyes.
"Kiba," she said, her voice unsteady. "I'm sorry I've ignored you for all these years... And I'm sorry for how much I've hurt you...I never meant to..." Kiba rested his hand gently on the side of her face.
"Hey, it's alright," he said, trying to soothe her. "I've learned to deal with it...I've pretty much learned that you're interested in Naruto, and that's fine with me. It's your life, not mine, and I'm not gonna try and control it for you. I know you love him...and I know we'll always be friends. I just...need to learn to move on, is all."
"No, Kiba...that's what I mean...I don't want you to move on!" She threw her arms around his neck as she began sobbing. Slightly surprised, Kiba rested his hands on her back.
"Hinata, it's alright! It's okay, don't cry..." he said. He closed his eyes and gently rested his head on her shoulder.
"Kiba, please don't move on... I don't want you to. I love you..." Kiba's eyes widned with surprise. Had she really just said that? After all these years...She had finally uttered the words he longed to hear. He smiled, placing one hand on the back of her head.
"I love you too," he replied, tears of happiness welling up in his own eyes. Yumina and Seikara smiled at each other. "I think it's time we got some sleep," Kiba said gently, letting Hinata lean back. "It's really getting late."
"Yeah," replied Seikara, poking at the fire with a kunai. Hinata laid down next to the fire. She closed her eyes, relaxing in the warmth of the fire. Kiba laid down behind her and gently draped his arm over her side. He felt her muscles tense, and then relax. He smiled and closed his eyes. The both fell asleep soon afterward. Yumina lay close to the fire as well, and Seikara laid behind her, but a little father back. All soon drifted into sleep, as the still night engulfed everything around them, save for the light from the slowly dying fire.