Dreamcatcher
By Airyo
The Breakthrough - 3
Itachi was not surprised when Team 7 invited themselves along for dinner at Ichiraku's. But really, for a rising Hokage, Naruto needed to work on being marginally more sneaky than a three-year-old.
Naruto raised a hand and greeted them with the casual wave that fooled nobody. "Oh hey! What a strange coincidence that I ran into you two, together, here at this place when I just so happened to be, as well. at the same time…" He scratched the back of his head, eyes curving into little crescents. "How lucky, huh?"
"Disgusting," Sasuke muttered from next to Naruto. On the blond's other side, Sakura shook her head sadly as Sasuke continued. "Your stupidity is disgusting."
"WELL YOUR FACE IS DISGUSTING!" Naruto yelled, pointing an accusing finger at his teammate.
Sakura clapped slowly. "Your wit is truly worthy of a Hokage, Naruto…" she said. The Rokudaime pulled down his eyelids and stuck his tongue out at her in reply.
Hinata glanced at Itachi's expression and pressed a fist to her mouth, shoulders shaking in mirth. She didn't miss the sly glint in Naruto's eyes before he continued to make a fool of himself. With each passing day, she understood why Itachi believed in him so.
The past few months have been difficult. Even with Itachi's presence anchoring her, the rippling consequences of Hiyoshi's betrayal took its toll. Naruto's sunny presence was a sorely needed break through the storm.
Itachi looked up, and almost frowned. Hinata turned to see the remainder of Team 8 pass the ramen stand.
"Good evening, Hinata-sama," Shino said with a polite nod.
Kiba said nothing, but kept his narrow gaze on her. Prolonged eye contact was a sign of aggression in dogs - Kiba himself had told her during the brief time they had been teammates. When Kiba didn't show any sign of backing down Itachi shifted, a subtle movement that was nonetheless a clear warning. Out of the corner of her eye, Hinata saw Sakura and Sasuke do the same.
Hinata swallowed, but held Kiba's gaze. "Aburame-san, Inuzuka-san," she greeted in a steady voice. "Good evening." She didn't look away.
A long moment passed like swallowing molasses, thick and uncomfortable and lingering. Kiba looked away first.
"Evening," he huffed. Hinata could have let it go at that. Itachi doubted she would, given the unique blend of empathy and insight that made his Hinata so terrifying. Now that the source of her frayed mind had been removed, her perceptiveness seemed to have increased threefold overnight.
"Tomorrow is the first day they will allow visitors. Will you be visiting Hikaru?" she asked.
Kiba didn't move. Akamaru whined, an almost strangled sound from such a large creature. "I will be going to visit her tomorrow. She is my cousin," HInata added bluntly, gently. "Regardless what crimes the village charges her, the same blood still flows through our veins. So you don't need to worry that the Hyuuga have abandoned her." Kiba snarled. Shino put a hand on his shoulder. A discrete line of kikaichu threaded down his teammate's arm.
"Bitch," Kiba murmured with none of the venom. As Naruto launched himself across the counters to kick Kiba in the face, Itachi wondered if it was a compliment, given the Inuzuka's family background.
Hinata looked up at Shino. "Does Hikaru know how he feels?"
He shrugged. "I find that selective blindness is a family trait," Shino said. "Fortunately, of the two members I've met, that blindness was directed towards their strengths rather than the more common misconception of one's weaknesses."
Hinata bit her lip, trying not to laugh even though Shino had called the rest of her clan blind and arrogant. She understood. He had acknowledged her worth as a potential member of Team 8 even when she hadn't. It moved her more than Shino would ever know.
While Hinata was the picture of tranquility, her fingers still sought Itachi's. "Thank you," she said. Shino nodded, attention already diverted by the brawl between two idiots.
From the corner, Akamaru whined and covered his eyes with his paws.
AN: Woah, time passes fast. Sorry about that.
One of my favorite things is that Shino's name means 'Of Faith', considering Hinata's character theme of learning to believe in herself.