The following morning, Hinata woke up to the smell of bacon. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and to her shock and surprise, she saw Kiba standing over her bed holding up a tray of food. She sat up immediately and covered herself with her covers.
"Good morning!" Kiba said. "It's already eight o'clock. So I wanted to make you breakfast. And I hoped I cooked it right!"
Hinata smiled at her friend. She then stretched and yawned before Kiba put the tray on her bed. He too sat down on the edge of her bed, watching her eat.
"Thank you so much Kiba. But are you going to eat?" Hinata asked holding out the tray for him.
He shook his head. "I already did. For some reason, I woke up an hour before you did, so I decided to make myself something. After I was finished, I started making breakfast for you! It's one way for me to say thanks for taking me into your home."
"Thanks a lot Kiba," Hinata replied sweetly.
"Oh yeah!" he added snapping his fingers. "That girl…Sakura called to say that they moved the BBQ until next week. Something about a Sasuke getting really sick… And so did that Lady Tsunami or whatever… She called to say that she'll text you when you're needed at work or when I have to go to an appointment. So I think she pretty much gave you the day off."
"Oh wow really?" Hinata said surprised. She probably wants me to spend some time with Kiba today. "Well then, do you want to do something today then?"
Kiba nodded eagerly. "Yes! I'd love that! Well I'll go and get ready while you eat."
Hinata smiled sweetly at Kiba's retreating figure. Just then, a light bulb went off in her head. She then got her phone from nearby and made a call to someone who would help make Kiba's day.
A couple of hours later, the two were already ready to go out. The pair then headed out and began walking around.
"So where are we going?" Kiba asked curiously.
Hinata replied, "The park. Hopefully there are things there that could help trigger your memory."
"Really? Like what?"
Hinata thought for a moment before responding. "Well, that's where you and I first met when we were children—"
"You and I met there?" Kiba exclaimed excitedly. "How cool is that! Anything else?"
"Shino, you and I used to hang out there a lot. But not just us, sometimes almost all our friends would come and join us! We had a cookout there once and it was very fun! And the park is where we shared our—"
Hinata stopped abruptly. She even had to stop walking to realize what she was about to say to Kiba. He too stopped and looked very puzzled at Hinata's sudden stop.
"Share our what?" he asked her.
Hinata began to stutter. "W-Well, y-you see… I-I umm… W-We d-did…umm…"
She couldn't seem to find the right words and she'd rather not tell him until she felt a little more comfortable around the subject. So she finally said without stuttering: "I'll tell you some other time. Right now I have to get you to the park because there's a surprise waiting there for you."
"A surprise?" he said. "What is it?"
"You'll see," she said a little slyly. "Let's just get going."
So the pair continued to walk. Kiba continued to ask about the times they hung out there. Hinata even explained how they had met; Kiba was busy exploring the wilderness of the park, when he saw that one of his mother's dogs went missing. He went to search for it when he found it fast asleep near a flower patch with a little girl— who Hinata was— with dark hair and pearly lavender eyes picking flowers and watching the sleeping dog. From then on, Kiba and Hinata have been best friends since then.
Kiba seemed very fascinated by the story. He even said it was his honor to be best friends with a girl like Hinata. Hinata continued to smile at Kiba when they had finally arrived at the park and Hinata saw the person and animal she wanted to see; Hana and Akumaru were waiting at a nearby bench so Hinata took Kiba and greeted his sister.
"Hello Kiba," his sister said. "This is, Akumaru, your most faithful companion."
Kiba stared at the dog for a moment and suddenly grinned. Akumaru barked in response and flung himself on Kiba. Hinata and Hana watched in fascination as dog and owner played on the ground.
"So how is he?" Hana asked.
"He's fine. He's being really sweet to me right now," Hinata replied smiling. "I told him as much as I can. I was even going to tell him about…our first kiss here."
"And what did he say?" Hana asked again, smirking.
Hinata blushed. "I couldn't tell him. I just got so nervous…"
"Are you planning on telling him you guys were boyfriend and girlfriend?" she said gently.
Hinata thought about it, then replied, "I'll tell him once I feel more comfortable. Or when I've told him everything that that's the only thing left he needs to know."
Hana nodded. "That's fair enough. I just hope he does not remember Izumi! God, she's annoying! Even Mom most of the time wants to "release the hounds" on her! I'm sorry you don't need to be hearing this Hinata."
Hinata only grinned at Hana. She had always felt close to Kiba's family and she knew that Hana and Tsume felt like she was another part of the family and they loved her very much. They continued to watch Kiba and Akumaru play around on the ground when Hana suddenly said:
"You know, he's always liked you."
Hinata turned to look at her and felt puzzled. Looking at her expression, Hana explained.
"Ever since you two met, I've had a feeling that there was always a little more than just friendship. Even if he's with Izumi, he would always remember the good times with you. Kiba always wanted to visit you in the hospital but Izumi or worked always stopped him. I just don't know why he broke up with you. He really did and does like you, believe me Hinata," she finished.
"Maybe he went through those stages boys go through…" Hinata replied softly. "Whatever it was, I just hoped he was happy even though it hurt for awhile… I really missed him afterwards… As my friend and as that special someone…"
Hana put a comforting arm around Hinata's shoulder which Hinata felt grateful for. Suddenly, Kiba and Akumaru came back and Kiba looked both out of breath and excited.
"Hey I met Akumaru just a bit before I started school right?" he asked. When Hana and Hinata nodded, he whooped and said, "Yeah I remember! And I used to always eat everything with him! His favorite thing to eat— or our favorite actually— is beef jerky! I know Akumaru loves steak!"
The two women stood there gawking at Kiba and his sudden realization. They couldn't believe he had remembered! It was so surprising and it was just the second day that he had lost his memory and he was starting to make some progress!
"I'll call Lady Tsunade," Hana said. "Take Kiba to the hospital Hinata. She said at any moment he remembers something to take him to the hospital."
"Right," Hinata said nodding. "Let's go Kiba. Akumaru can come along with us."
Kiba nodded and followed Hinata to the hospital.
"Kiba, I'm glad you're starting to remember. I hope this progress keeps going," Hinata said along the way.
Kiba grinned at her. "I'll be able to remember with your help Hinata. Thanks for helping me remember Akumaru. He was such a great pet… I know I can't remember anything else, but I know I'll be able to soon."
The two friends smiled at each other and continued making their way to the hospital, hopefully to find a way to help Kiba's memory get restored faster.