A/N: Ahaha, much longer chapter, because I worked hard on it. (Your authoress is lying because she wrote this all today :P)

BTW, in order to help you visualize the story a little better, I've picked the uniforms which the characters in this story will be wearing, since they all go to the same school. For all those Fruits Basket/Furuba readers, I've chosen their school outfits to be the outfits in this fanfic. For all non-Furuba readers/watchers, I've put links up on my profile, so check them out before you read so you get a better idea.

Special thanks to those who reviewed!

Hinata noticed the tall, grey stone high school nearing round the corner, so she quickly gathered her things into her petite arms and flung the door open the minute the extended limo parked at the sidewalk. Snatching her simple bag from the elegant black leather seats, she used her elbow to propel herself out of the limo. Neji raised an eyebrow at her, but said nothing as he exited the car.

Hinata got out and whipped around, bowing to her father, who was still waiting inside, eyes invisible to her.

"Have a good day, father." She said timidly, eyes pointing towards the ground in a ninety degree bow.

"…Hn."

The door slammed shut, and Hinata inwardly flinched at the sound, still deep in her bow. She remained still in her position, even as the car disappeared from view. Neji stared at her, before staring and yanking her up by the arm and meeting her pale eyes.

"Don't stand like that; it's embarrassing." With that, he spun on his heel and entered the school.

Hinata's frail eyes followed his footsteps, before they averted to the ground and her eyes rose in sadness, heaving a sigh. She tightened her grasp on her simple black bag, held in front of her knees.

Hinata's eyes fluttered open, as she saw several pairs of legs walking towards her. Slowly moving her eyes up, she saw Naruto and Kiba, laughing loudly and punching each other in the arms, several other guys walking behind them and doing the same.

She froze up.

They were the bad boys of her school. Rambunctious, rude, snappy and with mouths dirtier than a garbage dump. The principal's office might've as well been their second home. When Kiba and Naruto first became friends back when they were first years, Hinata had paid them very little heed. It wasn't until months later they had become infamous for breaking the hearts of numerous girls in their grade, and pretty soon their exploits with girls in other grades made them well known around the entire school.

Then the thought occurred to Hinata, stirring fear in her. What if they were coming for her? It was true, they hardly knew her…in fact, considering how invisible Hinata was they probably didn't even know she existed…but that didn't change the fact that they had…done things to other girls. And Hinata was shy, quiet as a mouse and the ultra conservative around her friends. The thought of what they could do to her caused a reaction from her, treading the line between a deep blush and nausea.

These thoughts that plagued her left her in a state of near comatose stiffness, eyes glued to the ground and knees ready to collapse in on each other. As she heard the voices coming closer, her eyes darted upward.

The group was much closer, and their voices louder. Backing up, inch by inch, she held her bag up to her chest and hugged it tight, not blinking as her eyes remained glued to the back of Naruto's head, who was closest to her.

He frightened her, to be truthful. Naruto had been involved with god knows what and god knows who for god knows how long, and there was no way innocent Hinata was getting involved with that. Of course, Sakura had been with him...but she was a strong girl. She could take care of herself. Unlike Hinata.

Hinata turned around and stalked away, before clamoring up the stone steps. However, she failed to coordinate herself long enough to prevent herself from slipping just before reaching the top step, throwing her arms in the air and sending her bag and its contents flying, and tumbling down the stairs.

The sudden shock was abrupt enough for Hinata that she didn't even squeal as she fell, and landed unceremoniously in a huge mud puddle at the bottom. It splattered across her entire body.

"Urgh…" Hinata grimaced as she surveyed her dripping arms and ruined skirt. One of her shoes lay several feet away, while the other, still on her foot, was full of mud. Her knee socks were drenched in the water. She blew a stray hair from her face, while she wobbled to her feet.

Before she was able to get up, she noticed Kiba staring at her.

It was the first time she had ever looked at him, properly, at least. She rubbed a dirt particle out of her eyes, looking him up and down, without realizing it seemed she was checking him out.

He was tall, almost as tall as the towering Naruto. He had messy, simple brown hair that fell right in front of his dark eyes, explaining the reason so many girls shrieked whenever he so much as threw a glance their way.

Triangular, red tattoos on his tan cheeks made him stand out from the rest of the crowd, and gave him an air of mystery and foreignness. His jaw line was strong and his nose pointed, with small, sharper-than-average canines visible whenever he smiled.

And to top it all off, he was an athlete with a body just about any girl would die for.

Except Hinata. Her straight out fear of people like him; the dangerous, the bad-boy type, completely overshadowed his good looks and made her wary of him.

His chocolate eyes were slightly blank, staring at her, and Hinata knew any good man would immediately come and help her up. But then again, Kiba was no good man. So it wasn't exactly surprising when a smirk came across his features and he motioned to her with his eyes, getting his other buddies to laugh at her while stalking away from the scene as if nothing happened.

"Hinata! Hinata, are you alright?" Hinata inclined her head to the voice, to see Ino rushing towards her, Sakura and Tenten in tow. "What happened?" Ino demanded, crouching down to help her friend up.

Hinata placed a hand on her temple, calming her swimming vision. "I just fell down the stairs, is all." She looked down at her dirtied uniform, sighing. "The teachers are gonna have a fit about this."

Tenten shook her head. "Not quite. It's still early; the school washing machines should be open."

Sakura handed Hinata her misshapen shoe. "Are you sure it wasn't those boys I saw nearby?" she said crisply, a twinge of acid in her tone. "Pushing you down, I mean. It's totally in Naruto's character to be a complete jackass." She unconsciously clenched her teeth, firmly planting her hands on her hips.

Hinata shook her head. "No, no, I was just being clumsy. Let's go in."

As they entered the school, Hinata thought of Kiba.

And so was Hinata's first impression of Kiba.

He's a jerk. But a really good-looking jerk. But still a jerk.

Naruto, Kiba and their group of friends, consisting of Chouji, Lee and Kankuro, were loitering on the rooftops, throwing garbage at unsuspecting passerby below.

Naruto was chuckling. "I can't believe she just fell like that. What a dunce." He brought a straw to his lips and aimed a spitball directly at one of their professors below. It hit right on target, gaining a confused and cranky look from the old teacher below them, who scoffed and rubbed his head in annoyance.

Chouji nodded along, stuffing a small sandwich into his mouth. "Hinata really does seem like the airhead type, though. I mean, she's always blushing and stuttering and mumbling; you'd think by hanging around Sakura's minions she would've gotten some confidence." He said with his mouth full.

The other ones chuckled along, but Kiba merely leaned against the roof lining, staying silent and observing his feet. As soon as he saw her fall, he immediately felt guilty. Here he was, trying to be a better person, and yet he couldn't bother to help the fallen girl up. And now he and his friends were laughing at the supposed stupidity of some girl he had never bothered to talk to.

A part of him, a tiny part that still held his fragment of conscience, told him to get his friends to shut up and apologize to her later, but as Kiba himself was arrogant the way he was and was deeply affected by what his friends thought of him, he ended up saying nothing.

As he thought back to the incident, he, only being a guy, considered her overall hotness level.

Dark hair, sleek bangs hanging neatly right above clear, pearl eyes. Pale, ghostly skin, and elegant limbs, although not coordinated in the least. She was thin enough, not bony like Sakura but not muscular enough as Temari, per se.

Kiba shrugged. She was nothing special.

And so, Kiba's first impression of Hinata, was something like,

A clumsy, foolish, average-looking girl.

Hinata wrapped herself in the uncomfortable school robe, impatiently watching the washing machine toss her uniform around.

Her friends lounged around, sitting on top of the empty washing machines and idly chatting with each other.

Even though the incident was long over, Hinata couldn't help feel but a little…hurt, that none of the guys had come to help her. Not that she was expecting it, but by the same token, it only added to her fears that no man could ever take her seriously, much less love or care for her.

When it came to Ino, or Sakura, in fact the majority of girls at her school, boys would jump at the opportunity to be near them. But when Hinata needed help, the only reaction was laughter and humiliation for her.

She sighed dejectedly. Maybe she was forever doomed to a hapless love life.

The machine slowly whirred to a stop. Hinata stood and brought her clothes out, before realizing she had nowhere to change. The change rooms were on the other side of the school, and Hinata certainly didn't want to walk there clad in nothing but a skimpy bathrobe. Think of how they would talk!

Her friends looked at her skeptically, sensing her trepidation, before laughing all in turn and closing the blinds of the room.

"Hinata, we're all girls here. There's nothing you've got we haven't seen." Tenten said lazily, picking at her nails.

Hinata flushed and gasped at Tenten's abrupt exclamation, before gulping and nodding.

"I…I suppose."

With some hesitation, she slipped the robe off, although her friends paid her no mind or heed as she quickly dressed and discarded the robe into a stray basket.

"Off to class, I guess." Hinata breathed through her teeth.

"WAIT!" Ino screamed, falling backwards and landing ungracefully in a laundry hamper. Her painted fingernail was pointing towards the door, her entire arm shaking and cerulean eyes wide in alarm.

"What?" Tenten and Sakura both asked.

"Th-There's someone watching! I think they might have been watching Hinata!" She stuttered out.

Sakura whipped her head around, to see that the door had not been fully closed and to see a pair of familiar blue eyes peeking through the crack in the door.

Hinata, and just about everyone else who had been there, couldn't agree more that they had never seen Sakura more furious.

With a speed unmatched by any runner in their school, Sakura stomped over to the door and flung it open, causing the doorknob to smack Naruto straight in the nose.

Grunting and falling backwards through the hallway while clutching his nose, he collided against the window adjacent to the laundry room. His blue eyes met Sakura's, and unwittingly felt his legs begin to shake.

Running wasn't an option. If he did, Sakura would probably pummel him harder or get the principal to catch him…and then pummel him harder.

Her friends behind her could practically see the steam rising out of her ears. Hinata's blush had reached its breaking point, and with an embarrassment unlike no other and feeling just about ready to cry at her horrible morning, she sunk against the wall and ducked her head into the safety of her knees.

"What…do…you think…you're doing…Naruto?" Her voice came out in a barely controlled whisper.

Naruto gulped, bringing his hands up in the facade of innocence while trying to calm her down. "I-It's really not what it looks like, Sakura…"

"Oh really now, then tell me, what was it?" She placed her hands on her hips and daringly took a few steps closer to him, completely cornering him against the wall.

"I, um…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head, guilty. "…Sorry?"

Sakura had a lot more strength than she let on. Like, a lot more. Most of her friends didn't know about this. They assumed her power over men mainly came from her frightening ability to nag non-stop, her boiling temper and a voice that could become so shrill it could crack glass.

With that being said, the last thing they expected Sakura to do was smack him right good across the face.

The slap echoed across the halls, and everyone in it stopped all conversation to stare at the battle of the exes.

Naruto moaned and touched his stinging cheek, while Sakura stood solemnly above him, unmoving and with darkened eyes, muttering,

"…You sicken me."

She turned and stalked away. Tenten immediately followed after her, calling her name down the empty halls and grasping her wrist, trying to get her to see reason. Ino pulled the terrified Hinata to her feet, and pulled her after Tenten.

As Hinata left the laundry room, she found herself unable to look at Naruto. To think…that was Sakura's boyfriend. She would probably never be able to look at him full in the eyes again.

Sakura was only a few steps away from Naruto, until her regained his balance and looked up at her retreating figure, with now infuriated eyes.

"Bitch." He murmured.

In a flash of speed, Sakura swung her leg up and kicked him right in the family jewels.

Tenten winced. Ino wrinkled her nose in obvious disgust, scoffing at the sight. Somewhere down the hall, where Naruto's friends were undoubtedly waiting for him, Chouji's voice could be heard. "Ooh, he is gonna feel that tomorrow, man!"

An inhumane sound came from Naruto's mouth as he fell to his knees, tearing up at her pointed toe boot coming in contact with his most sacred of bodily places. Falling to all fours, he struggled to keep from screaming out in pain.

The next moment, Kiba emerged from behind the corner, his face indignant and fists clenched tightly. He walked up to Sakura purposefully, who was watching Naruto with what appeared to be obvious satisfaction.

He brought up his large hand up to Sakura's shoulder and swung her around, hard.

"Hey, watch it." Ino warned him, glaring into his brown orbs, which were now focused angrily on Sakura's eyes.

"That was way outta line. You could've actually hurt him." Kiba said stonily, glaring at her.

"Like the way he hurt me?" She retorted bitterly. Sakura placed her hands on her hips, leaning towards him and daring him to challenge her logic. "Besides, you don't think watching a girl dress is outta line? Oh, I'm sorry, last time I checked, that was pretty bad too." Sarcasm laced her tone as she touched her lip mockingly.

Kiba's face twisted in even more fury. "While that may be, there are better ways to deal with stuff like that."

"Oh, and you would know this?" she laughed, pointing at him and lightly shoving him in the chest. "Please. You do god knows what to other people, way worse than what I just did to that loser back there." She jutted her thumb behind her shoulder.

Naruto looked up at her, wheezing out, "Fat whore."

"Shut up." She snapped back, turning back to Kiba. "Face it, Inuzuka. You hurt people. You and every single one of your minions back there." She acknowledged the corner by which the other boys were hiding with a jut of her chin. "You're in no place to be criticizing me." She smirked at him, the condescending look in her eyes unmistakable.

Kiba wasn't easily angered, but when it came to people he cared about, and the snobby attitudes of the 'upper class', it irritated him to no end.

"You listen here." He grabbed Sakura by the collar and shook her forcefully, her head lolling around. She gasped in shock, placing her delicate hands on his larger one and trying to dislodge his fingers by digging her long sharp nails into the skin of his hand. "I'm not rich like you; and I'm not the smartest guy-"

"There's the understatement of the century." Ino mumbled to Tenten with her arms crossed, smirking slightly. Kiba ignored her.

"But I know enough to realize you're looking down on me." He finished, thrusting her hard one more time. "And I don't appreciate it." He spat at her.

The cockiness returned to Sakura's soft features, although the malicious smirk plastered across hardly suited her typically cheery face. "Really, what gave it away?" She sneered.

He shook his head, looking at her in disgust, before throwing her to floor, causing her to land right on Naruto's stomach. Naruto heaved in pain, while Sakura looked at Kiba indignantly. "How dare you!"

He surveyed her with anger in his eyes, before turning on his heel and stalking away, feeling more perturbed than he had in a long time. He usually didn't let things like this get to him; no less silly, deluded girls.

"Let's go." He muttered darkly to the rest of his friends standing behind the corner. They stared at him; all with a mixture of fear, admiration and straight-out confusion in their eyes.

They all shrugged and followed after him.

By this point, Kiba completely forgot about apologizing to Hinata, and probably thought by now it wasn't even necessary, considering the way Sakura acted. Any close friend of Sakura must act the same, right?

Naruto, meanwhile, back in the hallway, pushed Sakura off him, earning himself a dark glare from his ex-girlfriend.

Without a word exchanged, they both stood and stared at each other grimly. Naruto huffed and walked away.

Sakura sighed, immediately losing her former fire and allowing her shoulders to droop. Her friends surrounded her.

"That was brave of you, Sakura. You really showed them." Ino voiced, Tenten nodding along.

Sakura shook her head, holding up her hand to stop them. "No, it wasn't. I was just trying to show them something."

A twinge of annoyance hit Hinata. Sakura had been brave, but here she was acting all noble. Of course, Hinata had been grateful for her help, but it almost felt like she went too far with the way she looked down at Kiba; and not just by implying it, but by outwardly admitting it.

It made her feel guilty. And not only that, but conceited, vain and a bunch of other things she had never considered herself. What if she acted that way, and didn't know it?

But perhaps was the way rich girls high on the social ladder were meant to act.

Even so, Hinata couldn't stop the sinking feeling in her gut. Not only from the fact Naruto had spied in on her and watched her at her most vulnerable, but also the way Kiba had regarded them with such disgust in his eyes.

Hinata's naïve mind immediately started whirring. In her normal world, she thought people like her should regard him with disgust and that he should look up to her for charity and treat her like a god. Such was the teachings of her father's closed mind and her secluded household.

Her thought process was changing. She hardly knew Kiba…how did he have this effect on her?

Hinata decided right then and there she wanted to understand Kiba better…and perhaps teach her friends some things along the way, even if she knew so little herself. Even so, she drew Sakura into a hug and genuinely thanked her for her deed, even if its manner of execution was a little extreme. Before she knew it, all her friends and her were in the group hug, before the bell rang loudly and all the girls jumped, before scurrying off to their next classes.

A/N: Erm...not sure what to say, except I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. :3 I hope you enjoyed it! :D

Reviews please, no flames.

-silver