Hinata sat back in her seat, relaxing while Kiba went to go and get him some lunch. Today the man was dressed in a dark short sleeved top with darker jeans, all of which accentuated the muscles he didn't bother to hide. He was a rather confident individual and Hinata liked that.
Especially as she was quite quiet.
"Hinata-sama? I have a note for you from a mystery admirer!" Ino excitedly said, bursting into her office. Hinata raised an eyebrow and held out a hand for the note. Ino smoothed back her hair after giving Hinata the note, pale blue eyes dancing around the room to look for a certain man.
"Where is your delicious man candy of a body guard?" Ino gushed, halting Hinata from opening her note. A feeling that wasn't foreign to Hinata rose in her chest, jealousy. Hinata tried to keep her face neutral and answered, knowing her voice was slightly lower than normal.
"He's out getting him some lunch. He should be in the company cafe"
Ino didn't notice the difference in her Superior, instead straightening her blazer. She winked at the Hyuuga before rushing out the door- obviously going to look for the man of her desires.
Hinata opened the note and paled immediately, the familiar feeling of fear rising into her heart.
You think a bodyguard will save you?
I can't wait to see your blood splattered on my walls.
Hinata folded the note and shoved it into her desk drawer immediately, the slam echoing in her now too large office. She clenched her hands together, trying to stop the trembling that rippled through her whole body.
She should have never told Shino. Now Kiba was going to get hurt because of her. Hinata wrung her hands out before picking her phone up and calling Shino.
He picked up immediately, voice comforting to Hinata's ears.
"Hina?"
"Hi Shin, I need you to release Kiba from his contract" Hinata murmured, trying to supress the tremors in her voice. But Shino knew her inside and out, and he was silent before replying.
"What happened?"
Hinata froze, before letting it out. Shino was always one to listen and Hinata trusted him more than anyone in her life. "I got a note today… I'm so scared Shino. Now he's going to hurt Kiba too, and I can't let that happen. You need to cancel the contract"
Shino could sense every bit of distress Hinata was feeling, and knew better than anyone else how she would play it off later or not mention it at all to Kiba. Shino tapped his pen on the desk in his office, thinking before replying.
"No Hina. This is his job, and in me cancelling the contract, not only will you be left unprotected, but Kiba will feel like you don't think of him as a competent man. Think about this Hinata. Kiba and I won't let any harm come to you or ourselves."
His voice was final, and Hinata knew she had no room to argue. Really, part of it was she was scared and wanted to talk to him, but she didn't want Kiba to get hurt too.
"Okay Shino. I'll see you for dinner?"
Shino smiled from behind the phone, sitting up straighter. "Of course. We'll go to Cho's at 6. Invite Kiba too. Love you, be safe"
Hinata grinned into the phone, all fear leaving her. "Love you too. Bye"
Kiba walked back into the office finding a slightly pale but smiling Hinata. Her face lit up when she smiled, something he had noticed quite a lot.
"You good Hinata?"
Hinata's head snapped to his before relaxing slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine thanks. Do you want to come to dinner tonight with Shino and I?"
Kiba was surprised- Hinata wanted him to come? He took a bite of his roll, thinking it over so he didn't seem too desperate.
"Sure. What time?" It was about time he talked to his friend Shino about keeping the Hyuuga all to himself. Hinata opened her laptop, glancing to the tall Inuzuka.
"6. At Chouji's."
Kiba nodded before walking to her desk, placing a box of teriyaki on chicken with rice on it. "You haven't had lunch yet"
Hinata smiled up at him after the surprise wore off, and accepted the box with a faint blush on her cheeks. "Thankyou. You even got my favourite"
Did she know that he had been watching and trying to remember everything she did? Nah. He finished off his roll, taking a giant swig of his water bottle. "By the way, Ino told me you got a note. She also told me you never get notes, so what was this one about?"
Even though most people would have seen it as a breach of privacy, Hinata knew by the hard gleam in his chocolate eyes that he was in work mode.
"I received a threat. Here" She passed the note to him, trying not to sigh at how warm his hands felt. Kiba's eyes darkened as he read the note, hands folding it neatly and tucking it into his jeans pocket. "I'm going to fax this over to my office and get some handwriting experts in. You'll be safe Hinata, I won't let anything happen to you"
Kiba left the room,but she didn't think she could tell him that she felt safe every time he said her name. They had met 2 days ago and he probably had women every night of the week.
Not that Hinata was angry about it- she just wished she was more confident in the social part of life. But that was who she was.
Hinata groaned, hitting her head on her desk repeatedly. 23 with no experience whatsoever- only Shino and Gaara were the people who knew this.
And she felt as if she would just die if Kiba found out too.
It was 6pm and Hinata walked into Chouji's restaurant, smiling at the familial, cozy atmosphere he provided. Chouji was a mutual friend of Shino and Hinata, an obvious love of food growing into a deep passion that extended to his chain of restaurants in Konoha today.
Shino was sitting at the back of the restaurant in a corner secluded and sheltered from the peering eyes and ears of any nearby eavesdroppers.
Shino looked up as soon as she sat down, an easy smile on his reserved face. He wore his normal slacks and high collared trench coat, ruffled hair artfully mussed and those ever present black sunglasses perched on the end of his aristocratic nose- every bit the secret intelligence officer.
"How did the dealings with Sabaku san go?"
Hinata smiled, placing her handbag at her feet before resuming posture. "As well as they could have gone. We ended up finding new ways to decrease costs but keep quality the same- now we just have to put it into practice"
Their conversation was interrupted when Kiba arrived at their table, immediately attracting the eyes of most women (and some men) in the high end restaurant. He took the chair in between Shino and Hinata, making a triangle formation.
"You guys ordered yet? Sorry for being late, got caught up by some interns"
Hinata shook her head, ignoring the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach when he ran a large hand through his dark hair. Shino waved him off, "It's fine. We just got here too"
Kiba's eyes went to the Hyuuga whose attention was on the menu. From far away he noticed her instantaneously, the most ethereal woman in the room, but up close Hinata was just inconceivably beautiful. Long, indigo black hair, an angled face combined with the soft features of a cherubim- she was every man's ultimate fantasy, whether they knew it or not.
Shino flagged down a waiter, engaging in casual conversation with Kiba, catching up on anything he might have missed since they last talked. They all ordered, Shino getting a specialty made item for Hinata called the 'Luna Dessert.' Chouji had made a dessert specifically for her after she had sorted out his bad pr after one of his interns gave a restaurant food poisoning.
"What's in it?" Kiba questioned, eyes curious on the quiet Hyuuga. She looked up then, a slow smile on her lips that made Kiba's blood boil.
"It's a kind of cinnamon dessert that has layers of pastry combined with various chocolate mixes and spiced, sweet cream"
They ate their dinner when it came, Kiba wolfing down his food with a gusto that didn't really surprise Hinata or Shino. He was a man who knew what he wanted.
Hinata's dessert came out, a glorious stack of pastries, chocolate dripping from the layers as the spiced, cinnamon cream filled their senses. Kiba watched as she practically drooled, hands itching to dig in- but since she was polite, she waited until they had their own too.
"Eat Hina" Shino urged, the nickname rolling off his tongue with years of constant use. Kiba felt the pang of jealousy and quashed it, instead choosing to watch the vivaciousness at which Hinata ate her food.
Kiba realized he was watching a bit too closely when Shino cleared his throat, brows furrowed over the top of his glasses.
Fuck, he knew. Shino never missed anything- especially if is was with someone he was close to. "Hina, we're going to go and get a drink from the bar. Want anything?"
Hinata shook her head, preoccupied with the piece of heaven in front of her. Shino jerked his head at Kiba, telling him to follow.
Sure, Kiba could win in a fight against Shino- but the intelligence of the man who was literally the eyes and ears of Konoha far outweighed anything Kiba could inflict.
And who fought their best friend over a girl?
