Hinata watched the two men walk away, leaving her to the glory piece in front of her. They were both so different- Shino a dark, quiet man with sharp looks and an even sharper intelligence. Kiba was passionate, loud and had a certain animalistic quality to him, thick muscle corded around a tall frame. Both the men were around the same height, and seemed to be engaged in an intense conversation. Shino's mouth turned down and Kiba's hands clenching at his sides.
Kiba. Kiba Inuzuka. The man who made her stomach clench, who made her feel safe- but completely out of her comfort zone. He was warm, almost too warm, and he made her feel so…. Something.
Shino had been there for her since she was young, her first child hood friend that made her feel comfortable and calm.
Both so different.
But maybe Kiba was only here to do his job? No. Hinata shook her head, taking another mouthful of the chocolate oozing pastry. No, Kiba wasn't a dishonest man- she could tell he was someone who enjoyed companionship.
The men came back to the table abruptly, the air much more tense than it was before. Hinata raised an eyebrow, both radiating an air of dislike. Weren't they best friends? Deciding to not say anything and not get involved in 'manly' matters, she finished her plate and pulled her phone out of her pocket, the ringing disturbing (Thank God) the pregnant silence.
"Hyuuga Hotels, Hinata Hyuuga speaking"
A familiar low voice filled the phone, making her smile. "Heya white-eyes! How are you?" Hinata grinned, turning away from the men for a moment.
"I'm great TenTen! How is Kirigakure?"
TenTen was there for business, overseeing a bootcamp that came from her Gyms. TenTen yawned into the phone. "It's going better than expected. BUT, I wanted to ask if you wanna have lunch tomorrow, since I just got back in tonight?"
TenTen was back! Hinata nodded before realizing TenTen couldn't see her. "Of course! Senbon, at one?"
TenTen agreed before saying goodbye, needing sleep from the long journey. Hinata turned back to the men, a smile still bright on her face before she found them both staring.
Shino raised a brow, "She just get back?" Hinata nodded, feeling the intense stare of Kiba on her. She turned to Kiba and smiled slowly, "You get to meet my other best friend tomorrow. If you want to come to lunch with us, I mean"
Kiba grinned, showing a sharp canine. "Of course. Yeah, I'll come" He gave a triumphant smile to Shino, who had in turn snapped his wine glass.
What was going on with these two men? Hinata shook her head at Shino, her smile failing the hard look she was trying to give him.
Hinata didn't notice the fork that bent in Kiba's hands.
TenTen was a tall, lithe woman who always wore her hair in two buns atop of her head. She was cheerful, kind but had a backbone of steel that always came out when tough times happened. One of those tough times was when Neji died. TenTen was his fiance, and from his death she had never taken anyone else.
Hinata remembered the time she asked TenTen why. She had looked at Hinata with sad eyes, a small smile on her face. "Your cousin was the only man who felt like he shared the other half of my soul"
But as the years passed, the two had grown extremely close, often meeting whenever they could- which was hard considering their occupations.
Hinata walked down to Senbon after a tedious meeting with two men who wanted to cheat her out of three million dollars. She told them where they could shove their offers- in a completely nice, Hinata-like, business way of course. TenTen was already inside, dressed in her usual workout gear, jumping to her feet when Hinata walked in.
"Hinata-chan!" She burst over, wrapping Hinata in her arms. They hugged, both laughing. TenTen stepped back, an eyebrow raising as she looked at Hinata. "Damn girl, you've gotten even hotter since I left a month ago"
Hinata laughed again, feeling genuinely light hearted for the first time in a long time. She could tell that Kiba had walked in the door behind her from the way all the women in the burger place straightened and tucked their hair behind their ears. TenTen's eyes flicked from her to Kiba- who stood almost protectively behind her- then smiled darkly, assumptions clear in her brown eyes. Hinata rolled her eyes, not showing the heat she felt clearly when Kiba brushed her shoulder with hers.
"Inuzuka Kiba, pleasure to meet ya" He said, holding out a large hand for TenTen to shake. TenTen shook it eagerly, nodding in satisfaction when he let go. "This your squeeze Hina-chan?"
A blush immediately overtook Hinata's face, making the bun-haired gym freak laugh. Kiba's deep laugh rumbled behind her and Hinata shook her head. "He's my bodyguard for the time being"
TenTen raised a brow then gestured for them to sit back at her closed off booth.
Hinata dug into her triple cheese burger- surprising the wolfish man, but not surprising TenTen at all. Hinata had always been more comfortable with easy fast food, rather than the stiff necked dinners her father used to make her go to- she knew because Neji had filled her in all the time on what his 'cute little cousin' always did- it used to be annoying until she realized it showed the side of him that no one really got to see. The extremely loving side.
Neji. TenTen paused as she ate, allowing the hurt to overwhelm briefly before feeling it subside. That pain would always be there. TenTen looked up to the wolf man, who was stealing glances at the Hyuuga beside him.
TenTen knew that look- she knew it real well. Grinning, she spoke up. "So, why do you have a bodyguard?"
And judging by the stiffening of both her companions, she had hit a sore spot. Hinata relaxed after Kiba had placed a large hand on her shoulder- but TenTen didn't think Hinata noticed.
"You know Kabuto? Well he went to the papers about how we were having a 'sordid love affair' and gave all the details of our apparent sex life." Hinata sighed, absently nibbling on a chip. "I told him to retract his statement or I would let go of his business. He didn't like that and wrecked my car. Now he's stooped to sending me threats" Hinata glanced at Kiba from the corner of her eye, blushing faintly when she found him already staring.
"Shino wanted to make sure nothing happened. So he hired the president of a security company"
TenTen laughed grimly, acknowledging how Shino-like that was. Considering how much he loved the pale eyed woman, it made sense of the lengths he would go through to protect her- but Hinata didn't know that yet.
But that snake of a man, Yakushi Kabuto, was treading on a line that he shouldn't have stepped on. Threatening Hinata? Fuck no. There were already reports of him doing less than savoury things to younger, much more unsuspecting women. TenTen lazily flipped her knife around her fingers, the years of martial art work amounting to an impressive display of knife work.
She would gut him. Slowly. Kiba cleared his throat, gaining both the women's attention. "Shino's and mine own agency are finding evidence- not only for him threatening Hinata, but for other crimes he may have committed. Then he'll be able to go behind bars for a time longer than life" His voice was clear, with deadly intent, and TenTen knew she liked the man already.
He was rough around the edges- even if he was a CEO- and had the feral smile of someone who had either spent too much time with animals, or was battling the one inside himself. She saw his fingers clench, and noticed the way his eyes flicked subtly between Hinata and the premises.
Yes, TenTen thought, more like a guard dog than an actual bodyguard.
Hinata looked to TenTen, finishing her meal. "How was the bootcamp in Kirigakure?" TenTen stabbed the knife into the table, and grinned. Then launched into a comical tale of the participants in her more than intense fitness bootcamp.
Fun, fun times.
Kiba called his vice president after lunch was over, wanting an update on the progress of evidence finding. Akamaru had little to say, other than the fact Kabuto's father was involved in a few drug cartels, which was common knowledge for the Inuzuka. He cursed silently before hanging up, dark eyes already on the Hyuuga who was sitting at her desk with a new note.
This one had been more explicit than the last.
Hinata had crushed the paper, face a sickly white that betrayed her unaffected mask. Sure, she was a business woman, but she was Hinata through and through- his conversation with Shino showing that clearly.
Kiba shook his head, coming to stand beside slightly trembling Hyuuga and placing a hand on her shoulder. "This won't happen for much longer" he rumbled, voice husky and nearly silent.
Hinata snapped her head to his, eyes wider than usual. "What if he hurts someone else in order to get to me? Other people can't be hurt because I didn't think about the repercussions of a decision I made on the spot Kiba."
Kiba was dumbfounded and slightly amazed that she only cared about what might happen to other people, not when the note had so clearly written what would happen to her. But that was one of the reasons he… liked her? No, Kiba thought, he knew it was more than that.
And every second she stared at him with those watery, determine eyes, he could feel himself falling deeper.
Kiba supressed the urge to wrap his arms around her, needing to maintain the charade of being just her bodyguard so he could spend more time around her. But he knew he needed to buck up soon, there was too much competition.
Especially from Shino
Kiba squeezed her shoulder, bringing a toothy smile that showed his canines. "Trust us Hinata. Just trust us"
Hinata stared at him a moment longer, fanning the fire in him before she looked away, nodding briefly. She exhaled slowly, handing him the note for evidence. Then like she always did, Hinata straightened her spine and opened her laptop. "Yeah. I will."
Her hand came up to grip the one that was still on her shoulder. Kiba just couldn't let go. "I trust you Kiba. I really do"
Those words mattered more than she would ever know. So he held them, repeated them in his mind and called Akamaru to speed up the search.
