Naruto intercepted her when she was on her way back to the classroom, after finishing her lunch.

"Hey, I see that you and the bas-ehem, Sasuke made up! Cool!"

Hinata blinked, before smiling shyly. Trust Naruto to realize it just by looking at them. As much as people liked to call him an idiot, he could actually be quite perceptive when it came to certain subjects. When it came to Sasuke, specifically, he seemed to be extra keen.

"Y-Yes, Naruto-kun… we made up a-at the beginning of s-summer holidays…"

"I'm glad! Did you apologize? You apologized, right?"

"I-I did."

"Ha! I told you that was all you needed to do! But really, what a bas… ehem, to have you apologize before talking to you" he clicked his tongue, crossing his arms. Hinata giggled, entertained by his changing expressions.

"H-He apologized t-too… if it m-makes you feel b-better."

"What?! Really?" he asked, incredulous. Hinata nodded. Naruto put a hand under his chin. "Just what happened with you two that you both apologized…" he wondered aloud. Hinata fidgeted, not wanting to spill things about Sasuke that she knew the other boy wouldn't appreciate Naruto knowing, but luckily for her, before the blonde could ask, another voice called out to him.

"Oi! Naruto! Are you coming or not?"

The two of them looked towards the source of the shout, and Hinata found a boy from class, Inuzuka Kiba, running towards them, looking intently at Naruto. She gulped, taking a small step back that went unnoticed by the boy at her side.

Inuzuka Kiba… was a boy who had entered their class just that year, even though he started attending the academy last year, like her. He was loud and boisterous, in a similar way than Naruto, but unlike him, he was actually well accepted among their peers. To be completely honest, she was a little intimidated by him and his abrasive personality. He also liked to make fun of Naruto and his clumsiness more than anybody else, something that lowered him a bit in her eyes.

He stopped a few paces from them, and only gave Hinata a small look before concentrating on the other boy.

"You're too slow! After insisting so much to play with us, do you prefer to stay here after all?" he asked, hands on his hips. Hinata was slightly surprised. Was Kiba… telling Naruto he could play with him?

Naruto immediately sputtered, turning to the boy with exaggerated gestures. "Of course I wanna play! Don't leave me behind, dumbass!"

"Who you calling a dumbass, idiot?!"

"You, obviously!"

The two argued as they left, with Naruto simply waving her goodbye. She looked at them walking towards the playground, where other boys from their class seemed to be waiting for them. She was surprised, but in a good way. After all, it was the first time ever she saw Naruto actually being invited to play with others.

Hinata saw as the boys started playing what looked like tag, and she couldn't help but smile. She wondered if something was changing, hoping for it for Naruto's sake. Maybe he and Kiba weren't friends, but allowing him to play with them, however briefly, was one step closer to the right path.

Without realizing it, her opinion of Kiba also went up a little. She had thought the two didn't get along, but…

She shook her head, turning and continuing towards the classroom. There was still at least fifteen minutes before the bell rang, and she wanted a bit of quiet and solitude in the meantime.

When she entered, she found, much to her surprise, that she wasn't the only one who had thought of finding some quiet in the classroom while the other kids played outside. Sasuke was sitting already, his eyes scanning a scroll intently. He jumped a little when he heard the door sliding open, but calmed down when he saw it was only her, going back to his reading with only a small nod in her direction.

Hinata looked at him a little before walking towards her seat. The box of mochi she didn't finish felt heavy on her pocket. She didn't know why. Maybe it was because, after hearing Sakura saying how she bought the present thinking specifically of him and his tastes, she felt a little bad of eating it all without her knowledge. Or maybe it was a little more mundane. Maybe it was because this time she knew who the present belonged to, and that was why she didn't feel it was right for her to continue eating what was meant for someone else.

It wasn't the same as with Ino's present. If she didn't take it then Sasuke would have thrown the book away. But with the mochi… it was unsweetened mochi, so there wasn't really a reason for him to reject it… right?

Without thinking, she found herself turning back and walking towards Sasuke, who raised his head when he heard her steps coming closer. She gulped, taking out the box of mochi and presenting it to him, much to his consternation.

"What?" he asked, glancing up at her after looking at the box questioningly. Hinata bit her lip, unsure of why she was doing this in the first place. Sakura wasn't her friend, and she didn't owe anything to her. It wasn't like she would ever find out she ate the mochi either, so…

"I realized the m-mochi is unsweetened… and… and I t-thought that maybe you would… uhm, m-maybe you…"

"You want me to have one?" he blinked, showing an astounded expression. Hinata nodded, waiting. Sasuke didn't say anything, just frowning in thought, before he slowly raised his hand and took the box from her. He took out a mochi and bit into it, tasting it a little before giving her back the box. Then, he turned back to his scroll, muttering that she was weird.

Hinata smiled, just a little, before turning around to go back to her seat, for some reason feeling better after Sasuke ate the mochi.

"Hinata."

She stopped, her eyes going wide with surprise. Sasuke very rarely called her by name, and when he did it…

She looked at him, but he wasn't glancing in her direction, instead finishing the mochi and licking the stickiness off his fingers. "I forgot to ask you… when is your birthday?"

"My…" she murmured, before shaking her head in order to clear her thoughts. "December 27th… w-why?"

"Just curious" he shrugged, and then ignored her completely. Hinata stood there a second more, before finally making her way to her seat. Well, considering she knew when his birthday was and even spent the last one with him, it made sense he wanted to know when it was hers, right?

She didn't overthink it more, and simply took out a scroll, following the boy's example, and read until the bell rang and students started filling in the classroom once again.

Surprised that Kiba invited Naruto to play with him? I know Naruto was always alone back when he was a child, but in the anime they also show these moments where he seemed to have some kind of camaraderie with Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji back in the academy. So I thought, maybe they were not friends, but at the very least, they seemed to have been the closest thing to friends Naruto had back then. Thus, this chapter happened.