A/N: I don't own Naruto.

The week until the big festival was rather uneventful for both Kiba and Hinata. They had a six-day escort mission with Chouji, to Sunagakure and back, which was the primary reason to the lack of deeper communication between the two; all was kept professional and friendly, as more would've felt inappropriate.

They didn't manage to hide everything, though – it took two days for Chouji to ask what was going on between them, to which Kiba had been about to say a high-pitched "Nothing, nothing!", but was unable to do so as Hinata had merely grinned and confidently said: "A lot of things." Chouji had smiled and congratulated the two, although Kiba was sure he'd heard him hiss something along the lines of "Dammit, I owe Shikamaru a grand."

The mission itself was smooth, if a couple of bandit encounters weren't counted. Seeing as the client was saved from any harm, though, everyone was happy and soon a bit richer. When the trio left Sunagakure, they stumbled across the Suna siblings who had been invited to the festival by Tsunade, and thus continued the trip with the six of them, as odd as the group was. Hinata was quick to snatch Temari to herself as she had a lot of questions she wanted to ask regarding Shikamaru, and Kiba found comfort on Akamaru's back as the presence of the boys of Suna was everything but comfortable to him.

Chouji offered Kankurou some of his potato chips and the older man took some gratefully, although he was a bit skeptical of their taste. He was happy to find out that they were actually quite tasty. Meanwhile, Gaara walked between his brother and Akamaru, who carried Kiba, in silence.

"So, what's the deal with you and our Shikamaru? Is there love in the air?" Hinata inquired from Temari excitedly, trying her best to keep her voice low. She saw a blush creep its way to Temari's usually confident and indifferent face and cheerfully waited for an answer. The blonde was doing her best to come up with an answer that would be as close to the truth as was possible, yet would also satisfy any curiosity that the Hyuga had at the moment. Easier said than done.

"No, no, God, nothing like that! But… I guess there's something about him that really gets me, you know? I don't even get it myself, I mean, he's not exactly my type, and—"

"I get it, I get it, you don't have to prove yourself," Hinata smiled at the older woman and patted her shoulder comfortingly. "If it helps, I happen to know that you've managed to impress him as well. And better yet, talking about it makes him blush."

Temari couldn't help smiling at Hinata's implication that Shikamaru wasn't exactly prone to blushing, which she actually knew to be a fact, too. Stretching contently, the blonde then eyed the shorter woman, whose gaze was aimed at the right side of the group of boys in front of them, yet she had some difficulties in differentiating whether she was eyeing her little brother or the Inuzuka.

"So, Hinata… are you aiming those bedroom eyes of yours at my little brother, which would force me to give you many difficult questions, or at the dog-boy, which would force me to give you tips?"

Hinata was startled and shook her head before looking at Temari as if she had just said aloud the deepest secret ever. "I'm—you—what—" The blonde laughed heartily at the blush that had quickly taken over Hinata's pale face.

"Yes, honey, it is that obvious," she said and winked, which caused Hinata to fiddle with the hem of her black t-shirt. "So, my turn – how serious is it?"

Swallowing, Hinata collected herself and forced the embarrassment out of the way. "It's not all that serious, yet anyway. Hopefully in the future, though…" She trailed off and broke into a fond smile as she saw Kiba try to stir up a conversation with the Kazekage, as awkward as it seemed. Temari nodded approvingly and returned the earlier pat on her shoulder.

"You'll be happy to know that underneath that shirt is a very nicely built body," Temari whispered at Hinata's sensitive ear and caused it to turn red along with her cheeks. Hinata nodded quickly and was about to ask about how Temari knew that, and to curse her for returning her thoughts to Kiba's body, but found herself unable to retort. She recollected herself and smiled deviously as she remembered Temari's little weakness, too.

"And you will be happy to know that Shikamaru doesn't find everything troublesome, quite the contrary," Hinata whispered and giggled at the way Temari's face quickly reddened. "We're even, let's let the subject go." Temari had never agreed with the Hyuga as much as she did right then.

The three days the group spent on the trip back to Konoha was nearly as uneventful as the way to Suna, as the only striking thing about it was that Kiba and Gaara seemed to get along a bit better, whereas Kankurou still had trouble accustoming to being near Akamaru – or Kiba for that matter; weren't they practically the same thing? The puppeteer got well along with Hinata, though, as she seemed to match his mentality more than Chouji or Kiba, as much as it surprised him. Temari had spoken to Kiba a few times about general things, making a few inquiries regarding the festival and accommodation. Gaara was unimpressed as Chouji offered him a potato chip, but accepted a few anyway. Manners before anything, he reminded himself. It wasn't that he didn't like Chouji, he was actually really nice, but Gaara knew that he wasn't the best match for such a cheerful person.

When the group arrived at the gates of Konoha, they were greeted by Shikamaru, who was to escort the siblings to meet Tsunade and to unpack their few belongings in the inn. Hinata gave Temari a wink and showed her a thumbs-up, only to get a playful middle finger back at her. She stifled her laughter and walked next to Kiba and Akamaru as they all proceeded to reach the Hokage tower – the Suna siblings to clear things up and the other three shinobi to register and complete the mission.

Tsunade happily greeted the bunch and handed the three their bits of money before dismissing them and continued with the kazekage and his siblings, with Shikamaru leaning against the wall as he waited for the small meeting to be done so that he could escort them to the inn and possibly hang out with them for a while. Wouldn't hurt, would it?

Chouji was quick to say goodbye to Kiba and Hinata as soon as they entered the sunny streets of Konoha, which left the remaining two, and Akamaru, a bit stunned. Shrugging it off, though, the trio then began walking through the streets where some festival decoration was already being put up.

"I don't know about you, but I could use something to eat?" Hinata said and held her grumbling stomach slightly embarrassedly, which only got a snicker from Kiba, who suggested some barbeque. Hinata had no complaints.

Kiba was quick to eat, but Hinata could've sworn that he slipped practically every other piece of meat under the table to Akamaru. Squinting her eyes, she continued to chew on the juicy meat, relishing the delicious taste in her mouth.

"So, the festival tomorrow," Kiba started as he took another piece of meat from the grill and brought it to his lips. "Should I come pick you up, or do you want a secret meeting at the darkest corner of the festival area?"

Hinata snickered as she pondered. "As tempting as a secret meeting sounds, I think I'd like you to pick me up. Just to keep some traditions alive, you know."

Kiba nodded cheerfully and chewed on the meat hungrily – maybe it wasn't such a good idea to feed Akamaru simultaneously, after all. He felt like he had barely gotten anything to eat. Hinata on the other hand was feeling rather full and thus contently leaned against the soft back of her seat with a yawn. She had been increasingly tired for the whole mission, and now that the stress was over it all hit her harder than she had expected.

"I think I'll eat more at home, I can't afford any more. Do you still want to get somethi—" Kiba's voice went silent when he turned all of his attention to Hinata and the steady, sleepy breathing coming from her side of the table. He melted into a soft smile as he came to the conclusion that it was probably the best for them to return to their homes. Therefore he paid for their meal, making sure that he was paying a bit more than the Hyuga was, and picked her up for the three of them to be able to exit the restaurant.

He hopped on Akamaru's back and let Hinata slide down enough for her to sit on Akamaru and secured his arms around her to prevent her from falling as the dog began walking, careful not to speed up too much. Kiba's eyes moved between their surroundings and Hinata's tired face, and especially her nose which wrinkled a bit in her sleep. He rested his chin on her head which he held to his chest an eagerly breathed in the surprisingly fresh scent of her hair – it was far fresher than he would've expected it to be after six days out of their home village. Sure, there were rivers that Hinata gladly took advantage of, but even so, it amazed him greatly.

When Akamaru reached the gate to the Hyuga compound, Kiba was unsure of how to proceed. He didn't dare to wake Hinata up, but he didn't have the nerve to enter the unknown building complex, either. Praying for a sign, he was glad to see the silhouette of Hinata's cousin approaching them from the street.

"Ah, Neji! Hinata's a little tired, would you mind taking her in?" Kiba asked hopefully as he slowly got down from Akamaru's back and walked to the brunette. Neji didn't answer, and instead stared at his sleeping cousin before meeting Kiba's eyes with an uninterested look.

"Just wake her up? It won't kill her, I'm quite sure," he said dryly and turned his back to the two of them, but was quickly stopped by Kiba's hand on his shoulder.

"You're her cousin, would it really be that terrible to take her in?" Kiba asked impatiently, anything but happy with Neji – not that he would've ever gotten along with him, to be honest. Neji sighed and held out his arms for Kiba to hand Hinata onto. "Thank you."

Neji merely shrugged as he left the Inuzuka without another word, which caused him to curse silently as he got back on Akamaru's back.

"For such a lovely girl she's got quite stuck-up relatives, huh," he said to Akamaru angrily and quickly got a bark back. "You think so too? Honestly, if I meet another nice Hyuga I just might eat my forehead protector. No, Akamaru, you won't be able to force me do so if that actually happens."

Despite not feeling all that tired when he was taking Hinata home, Kiba was still fast asleep as soon as his back met his mattress. Akamaru sighed and curled up next to his owner, content with his life when he felt Kiba's sleepy arm on his side, unconsciously stroking him. The sleepy strokes were the best; those were what drove Akamaru on.

When Kiba woke up he was shocked to see that it was already well past noon – four to be exact – and it wasn't too long until the beginning of the festival. He cursed aloud and sprang out of his bed straight into the shower, during which he planned the hour or so that he had until he had to appear by the Hyuga gate. Into that hour he had to somehow magically fit Akamaru's walk, a quick breakfast, dressing up nicely and making sure that he also looked nice. Then again, if his sister happened to be home, as rare as it was, perhaps she could help…

The brunette finished his shower in a few quick minutes and ran downstairs with a towel wrapper around his waist, yelling for his sister. Hana looked up from the newspaper and eyed her brother amusedly.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

Kiba was quick to propose to Hana that she would take Akamaru for a walk, to which she, surprisingly, complied and was out of the house with the dog in record time. Stunned, Kiba stood in the kitchen for a moment before he began preparing himself some breakfast. He had been awake for about seven minutes and everything felt weird already.

Hinata sat by her wall mirror on a small stool and tried to figure out how to put her hair. She was already in her light-colored yukata which was decorated with birds and flowers, and the only problem she had to fix was her hair. Oh, the cursed hair – it didn't look fitting down, up, in different kind of hairdos… She was helpless, at least until she saw a packet of decorated pins lying on her bureau. Despite not being the most familiar with doing magic with hair, she somehow managed to create a rather good-looking arrangement which held her hair up at the back of her head, showing her neck in an elegant way while also looking quite nice. The pins had lavender-colored beads in them, and Hinata thought that they looked really good with her similarly colored yukata and dark hair.

When the dressed-up Hinata entered the main yard of the Hyuga compound, the sky had already begun to dim down, and the bright lights here and there were taking care of the lighting instead. She watched as the rest of her family left in small groups, all dressed in different kinds of yukatas of similar color schemes, and only moved when she was sure that everyone had left. She walked to the gate and was glad to see Kiba right next to it with a lily in his hand – a lily she was sure he had just picked.

"You look amazing," Kiba breathed in awe and twisted the lily so that he had the flower and just a bit of the stem between his fingers. He stepped closer to his date and gently put it behind her ear, happy with his choice of flower.

"You don't look too bad yourself," Hinata smiled at him and wrapped her arm around his, ready to go. Kiba merely grinned and began walking with the girl by his side to the festival area through the emptier side streets. During the walk Hinata let her eyes wander from the dim lights to Kiba's neat, gray-brown yukata, a piece of clothing she hadn't yet seen him wear despite all the years they had known each other. And man, did she like what she saw.

The couple arrived at the actual festival area and Hinata could sense the way Kiba stiffened and breathed a bit more sharply than he usually did. She smiled at him and stroked his arm reassuringly. "No need to be nervous, Kiba-kun. It's not like you'll be eaten."

Kiba winced slightly and looked around in search for any potential other Hyugas. "I wouldn't be so sure… Your family is scary, woman." Kiba was glad that his shriek was mostly muffled by the bustling street, but he could see from Hinata's amused expression that at least she had heard it. She shrugged with a smile, unable to deny the claim.

"And they will be even scarier if you don't relax," she said softly (which was the first time Kiba actually found her softer voice appealing) and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Also, I'd like to go goldfish-scooping." Kiba took the hint and began looking for the goldfish-scooping booth, quickly locating it.

After Hinata had miserably lost the scooping five times in a row, Kiba had sighed and tried it himself. After two tries he had succeeded and proudly handed Hinata the plastic bag which contained a fine amount of water and a goldfish moving about. Hinata's face lit up as she smiled and excitedly thanked Kiba. In that moment he understood just how happy he was to make her happy, and he found the feeling quite pleasing in all its oddity. He had never expected that making someone smile could make you feel that good.

The next four hours that the two spent in the festival was filled with laughter and getting used to being intimate in a sense that they hadn't before; holding hands, occasionally unnecessarily touching the other one, stealing a few quick kisses every now and then. It was all new and so, so exciting. They had known each other long enough to feel comfortable with each other, even if there were still a few blank spots in their knowledge regarding the other one. Kiba knew close to nothing about Hinata's family and she knew close to nothing about what drove Kiba mad, even though she had a few suspicions already.

They ate, stopped by some stands to look at what they had to sell, bought a bit of small things from here and there and spoke with their friends whenever they encountered them. Hinata was happy to see Temari walking around with Shikamaru, whereas Shino approvingly nodded at Kiba when he saw the couple passing by.

"Good job Kiba, you manned up," Shikamaru said matter-of-factly as he and Temari approached the two. "And I suppose I have to thank you for this?" He showed Hinata his and Temari's linked hands, which caused Hinata to beam with joy, and even Temari broke into a smile.

"Yes!" Hinata exclaimed and hugged the blonde, who awkwardly returned the gesture. Shikamaru took a step closer to Kiba, muttering the usual 'Women…' Kiba merely chuckled and shrugged – he couldn't complain, really. As the girls kept on going about what had happened during the past twenty-four hours, Kiba and Shikamaru saw it better to leave them alone for a while.

Naruto sat at the ramen booth and pouted as he watched the scene of three of his friends, and Temari. He knew that he had given Kiba his blessing, not that he actually found his opinion relevant in Kiba and Hinata's relationship, but he couldn't deny the small sting he felt in his chest. It didn't help that Hinata was at her prettiest that night, hair done nicely and a beautiful yukata falling down her body. The blond sighed and returned to his meal, letting his eyes observe the other people attending the festival. The game might've been over regarding the Hyuga, but there were plenty of fish in the sea – surely there would be someone that would take a liking to him despite the certain level of shyness that he possessed. He just had to stay positive.

"Man, it's so weird to see you and Hinata like that," Shikamaru said to Kiba as he brought the stick with dumplings to his mouth. The short-haired kept his face straight and raised his left eyebrow – as if Shikamaru and Temari were a regular sight. "Ah, right."

"Nah, you do have a point," Kiba sighed and took a dumpling into his mouth, chewed it slowly and swallowed. "It feels so natural and odd at the same time, like… ten years after getting to know her and I'm allowed to – somehow even supposed to – touch her and hold her and all that stuff."

"And? Please don't tell me you have butterflies and all that crap." Kiba looked away from Shikamaru and shrugged, muttering a quiet "maybe". Shikamaru held his forehead and shook his head. "God, you're so the new kid at the playground."

Kiba sneered. "Psh, like Temari didn't give you any. You're a lot softer than you act, idiot, practically anyone can see it." Pouting, Shikamaru let the subject go as he had once again managed to be the pot calling the kettle. He felt like that was all he had done lately.

Soon after the two had eaten the dumplings, the girls re-joined them, and it didn't take too long for the couples to drift apart. Kiba looked at the happy-looking Hyuga who was holding his arm, and grinned widely as Hinata made a suggestion. "Let's go somewhere quieter."

They found a quieter place at the edge of the village, where they found a couple of flat rocks to sit on. The noises of the festival could barely reach them, whereas the more positive features of the event didn't miss them – the delicious smells of food and the bright lights did reach them in just the perfect way.

Kiba sat down and Hinata came close to him, enclosing herself in his arms and letting her head rest on his shoulder. She put the plastic bag on the flat rock Kiba was sitting on and let out a content sigh. The festival had been just as great as she had thought it to be, and the two had successfully managed to avoid any contact with any other Hyugas, which was always a plus.

"I hate to ruin the moment, but…" Kiba started uncertainly as he let his hand stroke Hinata's back gently and waited for the girl to give him the permission to go on – she didn't mind. "I… was wondering when you'd want to spill those secrets of yours. I hear that honesty is the key to a healthy relationship, and to be honest I'm kind of worried about you, and—"

Hinata silenced him with a soft kiss that caused his stomach to flip over, but he was relieved to know that at least she didn't seem, well, too upset about the question. When Hinata pulled away she let out a sigh and took a seat next to Kiba before taking his hand into hers. Kiba observed carefully as the dark-haired was visibly collecting herself, breathing deeply and preparing herself mentally.

"Where do I start?" she wondered, and sounded so lost that Kiba slightly regretted his question. Then again, he knew that he wanted answers – Hinata's mind had always been a mystery to him, and he thought that it was about time for it to slowly start changing.

"Wherever you want. Your childhood, your family… somewhere."

Hinata drew a deep breath. She had never quite put the thoughts into words before, and she found it hard to do it for the first time.

And she still didn't know where to start.

A/N: My first cliffhanger-ish ending! Still practicing, although this might not happen again ... (un)fortunately? As this is actually only a half of the chapter I had first written, the next chapter should be up rather soon. :3 Reviews are appreciated~