ONCE AGAIN ANOTHER RIDICULOUSLY LONG WAIT! I'M SORRY!

I was pretty damn uninspired for awhile. Yesterday and the day before I was sick to my stomach, puking 5 times in one day (no, really) and wanting to sleep off stomachaches and headaches but not being able to, and all that. I went home from school early and I thought I'd be able to type a chapter of something with two days' free times, but I found I could barely move and had to ask my grandmother to do the simplest of things, like put in The Lion King in the VCR for me to watch. (And I felt the tension and movie magic during the "stampede/Mufasa's death" and "can't wait to be king" scenes. Isn't it just one of the best ones Disney ever made?) And just walking to the bathroom made me dead tired, so...I couldn't do anything about it the last couple days.

But NOW...I was thinking about Blackbelt's Danny Phantom story, Dare You To Love Me, just after I walked my dog today, and somehow that gave me a quick inspiration run. I just got back from Applebee's for my little cousin's 11th birthday and I've got some good hours, and then Sunday morning since I won't be going to church. :) What the hell.

Dani's Random Fox: Ah, shit, I did...goddammit--SORRY! It's fixed here! Well...if he's demon that means...well, of course he'll live longer. Just don't know by how much.

Black Phantasy: Replied to, of course! If you leave a good one, so good that I must personally thank you, then of course it will be replied to. And you're right! "Demons" just explains (most of) it all, doesn't it? We have no clue why Kiba, the demon, would like Hinata, the human. No offense to them at all, we just don't know why a demon would have interest in a human. I know myself the ending could have been better. I was tired that night and my mind was shutting itself down but I needed to get it done...so as a result, it wasn't the best it could be. At least I know it was decent, ja?

FRJPCourageofaGuardianAngel: So many others were about to burst and I just sat there typing Blood Lust. I feel shitty for it and you guys deserved this.

switchblade-boarder: You're welcome.

bitty-chan: It's okay. Everyone goes through crap. I just decided to tell people about what mine was like.

The Norwegian Dragon: Damn indeed.

EXGaara: I know. Aren't I just pathetic? Staying up beyond my mind's capacity and still trying to go further? And in the end it wasn't even that good? Pathetic indeed.

Angels-Ramen: The last few sentences are probably what I worked the hardest on. I didn't know what Hinata should say for her reaction to that. I too, too, wish blackbelt would update more. The best ones always update on the worst schedule. And my trip to Missouri was pretty damn good, thank you!

in luv with cold hearted guys: Me, too. Sort of.

LostsoulofRegret: I really didn't know how else for him to say it. "Yo, Hinata. Hey, check out meh claws! Ya know, I'm a demon!" How 'bout that, huh? At least it came out decently, well according to what people are telling me.

PeptoDismal: Less than a month...hehe, and here we are 3 months later. Isn't it just dreadful? And you're welcome about your name. You admired your own wit with purpose! And I know myself. I took a cap-ful of the stuff when I was sick. I puked it up, of course. Not only was my stomach not even strong enough to handle medicine, the stuff is just plain shit. You aren't supposed to swallow something that THICK! Medicine, puh!

.heart: Informative? Haven't thought of it in that way. Sweet. Hinata had to be naive in her own way. Not "Naruto" naive exactly, but...refusing to accept the truth, I guess.

Blackxheart: A month? Well, you just need to sleep for a month! Hibernate. Or at least sleep in till noon once every couple weeks. That's what I do on some Sundays. (Skip church. ) Hehe.) Too much computer equals no sleep? That's crazy! I'm on the computer till 1 AM and I sleep in till 10 if I want. Your eyes may be worse than mine! And the dreams...I WISH I could remember mine more. I recall one or two Naruto dreams since my obsession with it started a little less than a year ago. One of which involved Sasori, Sasuke and Sakura in biology class. Sasuke ruffled Sakura's hair with his hand on his way into the classroom like she was his kid or something and they learned how to dissect some animal I didn't recognize. I remember they had to cut off three legs but leave the other one on for some reason about bone marrow. But now I'm probably ranting on you. So I'll leave you with the comment that remembering a dream longer than normal is NOT bad. In fact, I think it makes you smart. You have enough memory and intelligence to keep a dream in your mind for that long. Congrats, Black. You're smart.

jadsjkf: Impeccable? No one's ever said that before. I appreciate your comments, truly.

Rukusu Yamato: There's a chapter left? Didn't you just review the last one? Oh well. Thanks.

Kenzie493: Yup. Apparently she moved in the fifth grade, but I did know her. Everybody liked her and the teacher always misspelled her name for some reason. Everything has worked out for me and I am glad myself that I updated. I know most authors do that but they all probably feel crappy for doing it. It's good you had a bully-protector-unit. I never had any bullies. Never said anything, never got in trouble. I think that's the best way to go around. The Hinata way, I guess. She never got really "bullied" and I don't count her family because they didn't taunt her or anything, just looked down on her. Your dream sounds...interesting. I would have liked to see it. A girl n' Kiba, journeyin' through the land to find the infamous yellow lizard, in the belly of the big snake!'Course your review is interesting, too. VERY long, VERY nice to read. I know it was dramatic how Shino was acting...but I really didn't know how else to make him say it. As I said in another review reply, he couldn't just go, "Yo, Hinata! Check out meh claws! Hey, I'm a demon, by the by!" At least it got out.

Ryoko.K.J: I adore that story. Best KibaxHina out there, I think! I would NEVER quit any of my fanfictions! I would take a long break from them, sure. But I would never quit them. So don't get mad.

Torn00: Quite a good ending, indeed.

MewKatari: Thank you...update commenced.

Kyuubi92: I need fluff, too. I just don't find myself good at making it. Moving ain't fun AT ALL, you're right. I got torn off my best friend just because of money. I still believe my life back there was better, despite the shit I went through all the time. The school here sucks ass and I hate everyone there. Of course, this is LIFE and not my FANFIC. We all know happiness can be found on this site, ja? I'm on here all the time! At least I'm updating now, and isn't that good?

SpicyShani: You like all of it? Sweet.

hinataheiress: Go KibaxHina fans, right back at you.

fieryice.t: Possessive. Yeah, I guess that could work out here. I wasn't sure if he was quite fit to be called that at this point. What do you think?

Kiba-ish: I know...I just have the least inspiration for this one. It's unfortunate, is all I can say. I'm hurrying as fast as I can right now.

666

April 5th, 2:09 PM

666

AN NOTE

I need to mention that Konoha is NOT a shinobi Village in this story. It's just a Village, a place where people live. And Byakugan is sort of a hereditary, coincidental trait. It is something that just the Hyuugas can just do, just like the way that some people can snap their fingers and others just can't. There are no such things as ninjas. (So the few instances when I said that Neji left to train, I believe in the first or second chapter, was likely because he's taking a martial arts class.) Also, Hinata is/will be making a lot of references/memories of Sakura because she is her best friend. Hinata will sometimes recognize a gesture as something Sakura used to do because she spent a lot of time with her, many years.

AN NOTE END

Shino sat in dead silence, staring at the grass. Hinata was just beside him, her head sunk between her knees and not making a sound. No breeze was there to even make the grass flow. He could feel tension and wondered if it would be himself or her to spark it.

"I'm sorry," He said quietly. Hinata lifted her head to look at him with bored, almost careless eyes. "I didn't know how else to say it. You were...being difficult." Hinata put her head between her knees again. He wasn't being quite helpful. To find something to do, the demon uttered a low-pitched sound, inaudible to human ears. Seconds later a wasp had landed swiftly on his knuckle. It's antennae swiveled around, waiting for a message to hear and pass.

He whispered a quick word or two to the creature. It's little wings zipped up and down a dozen times in half a second in acknowledgement, and it hurried off into the air to find the she-beast called Kurenai. The wasp now knew that a female called Hinata needed to be comforted. Of course, being just a bug, it didn't know what the hell that meant.

Hinata broke the tension herself by slowly standing up and looking down at the sitting Shino. It was likely a self-conscious human way of trying not to be intimidated, he guessed; making herself look taller than him. "So...you have my diary now, right?" He nodded at her, and took the little black book out of his big pocket, held it up to her in his palm like a waiter holding a china dinner plate. Hinata took it from his hand and held it to her chest. "There's things in here I think h-he would tease me about..." She began. "Who my b-best friend is...stupid things I've done before...something I'm a-afraid of--"

"Thunder?"

Hinata literally jumped when he said the word, but Shino wasn't looking at her. He looked away and at the ground, as though ashamed he knew. "I didn't read it. But I saw your face before we left his room." He explained quickly. "We've been waiting for a storm here for awhile. Dry air can get annoying in spring. Kills plants and all that. I saw the clouds gathering for rain, and you looked horrified when you saw them."

Hinata looked at him for several minutes, but his gaze seemed gorilla-glued to the grass. She didn't say a word, only waited for him to continue, and he soon did. "It's not something to be ashamed of. Plenty of humans are scared of thunder." Hinata turned away, her back to him and her pose stiff. "And demons aren't?" There wasn't a reply to that particular question. "Come with me. I think you'll want the rest of the things from your pack."

"Nothing that I'd want now." Hinata said quickly. "Just a snack, a bottle of something to drink, and a good luck charm."

"You wouldn't want your charm back?" He asked, standing up. Hinata drew in a sharp breath as she considered her reply. The charm was a tuft of silver fur from Moonbeam's pelt. It had gotten rubbed off in the backsack when the cat had found her way into the cloth thing and tried to hide in it some years ago. That piece of hair always seemed to bring luck and it meant something special to her. "It's just a piece of fur from...from one of my cats. I can always pluck a-another off." Gulping to encourage herself to keep going, knowing what she was saying wasn't true at all, she added, "It wouldn't mean anything to him."

"Doubtful," Shino said, walking to stand beside her. "If he knows it's yours, he'll want to have it for himself." Shino knew the truth in this statement, more so than Hinata did.

"What's that mean?" Hinata whirled on Shino, tightening her grip on her diary. "It's just fur. You said he had a dog--he can pluck off fur from his own pet! Tell him that!" The bug demon shook his head. "You heard me: if he knows it's yours, he'll want it. What happened with the diary just a bit ago? He wanted to read it because it's yours and wanted to learn about you. It's his own childishly sick way." Hinata's eyes were wide with hate and disbelief. "Okay." She said, particularly slowly. "I want Moonbeam's fur tuft back. Would he have it, right now?" Shino shrugged. "Was your diary in your pack when you first came out into the forest?"

"Yes. I never took anything out but a snack to eat with Sakura."

"Then he obviously has your pack right now." He ignored Hinata's eyes growing ever wider. "Come to think of it, I was talking to Kakashi before--Kiba walked out through the Gates right past us and into the woods. He probably left to get your pack, and found the diary in it. Yes, he probably has it right now...looking through your things, no doubt."

"Looking at my stuff? But-But all I brought was food and a drink!"

"Then he'll probably find your cat's fur most interesting."

"He can't take Moonbeam's fur, Shino!" Hinata cried, stomping her foot. Shino's head reared back in surprise at the motion. "He...He just can't! I don't want to go back in his room again, I-I-I just get so scared, but I want that tuft back. Can you show me b-back to his room? Please?" She put on a look of honest and sincere hopefulness, asking, no, begging for Shino to take her back, as she didn't know the way herself. Because of the ever-present shades, Hinata couldn't see the pondering look in his eyes. It took a half a minute for him to say, "...Fine. But I'm not going in there myself. I won't tramp around his territory like it's mine...I promised I wouldn't touch you, and I won't."

'I can't.'

666

April 5th, 2:22 PM

(For once, most of Hinata's thoughts are hidden and we went into Shino's mind for a bit and saw his point of view. I won't do that a lot. The last sentence/phrase or two may be considered spoilers.)

666

"Here?"

"Yes."

Shino stood several feet from the maroon-painted door and the silver knob, and Hinata was directly in front of it. She would have liked to run back outside and hide behind those concealing trees they'd been by before. However, that single little piece of hair meant something to Hinata, in the same way an old, torn teddy bear meant something to a grown adult. It brought her luck on her adventures, and whenever she wore that particular backsack and went anywhere, she seemed to have a good time. It came from one of her precious cats, one of her precious friends from deep in her childhood and up to the present as well.

Besides, Padfoot and Moonbeam were way back home in the Village. If she was lucky, Neji or Sakura would feed them. According to everyone here, she would never be allowed to leave. That fur, tuft, good luck charm, thing, was all she had to remember her cats. She had to get it back...or she might lose the memory of them for the rest of her life.

"Are you planning to go in this afternoon?"

"Don't rush me!" She immediately looked down at her bare feet after snapping at him so. Before she'd turned her head down, she'd seen his brows shoot up in surprise. "Oh, geez..." She took in a sharp breath, thought out a quick plan to help her through this--get the fur and get out real fast--and lunged her small hand for the knob. Turning the thing as quick as she could to keep fear out of her mind, Hinata rushed the door open and dashed inside.

The room was dark as it was the other two times she'd been in here. The window was closed and the fireplace at the other wall unlit. Even the open door seemed to offer little light. The outline of the bed could barely be made out. She heard Shino walk behind her. She detected the sound of him putting his hand on the door. "I'm not allowed to stay here," He muttered. "Good luck." Within the moment the door was closed, leaving the poor, small girl in total darkness. She said nothing, not even daring to use her family's trait of Byakugan. If he was here, hiding somewhere in his room, then she'd rather be snuck up on than actually see him creeping towards her.

"...Kiba...?" She whispered. 'Maybe he's not in here...maybe I should find Kurenai...she could make him give the fur tuft back, couldn't she? Yes, I think so...I-If I asked her nicely, she would! Okay, I should just leave before--'

"Yeah?"

'Never mind.'

"...W-Where are you? I can't see..."

"I'm on my bed."

"I wanted to...to ask you something. Can I open a w-window? It's awfully dark..." Just then the fireplace flickered on out of nowhere. The room was lit up by the natural glow and Hinata did indeed see Kiba sitting casually on his bed, his hands behind him propping him up and one leg crossed over the other. He stared into the fire with a look that was very similar to the look Sakura's boyfriend, Sasuke, often had on his face. Sasuke, as Hinata remembered him, never seemed to be quite a happy fellow. Despite the fact that he was around her almost all the time when Hinata wasn't, and the slightly more odd fact that he refused to let her be around any other guy, even that lifeless friend of hers Shikamaru, Sasuke was Sakura's boyfriend and she seemed to enjoy (or take humor in) being with him. With this hard and cold Sasuke-like look, Hinata was almost frightened to move another step towards him. "You wanted to ask me something?" She nodded and took a wobbled step towards him, then another and another until she stood at the front of his bed, hands laced flat on her stomach to look polite.

"I had...um, a little piece of fur in my backsack before I came here." She started off, slowly. "It came off my cat when she crawled i-i-inside and, oh...it's been a good luck charm to me for a long time. Shino thought you---that...that you might have it. I would like it back, please." She saw his eyes narrow down to tiny, dark slits. "Sit down...there." He used his left hand and patted gently at a spot next to him on the bed. 'Sakura, lend me your bravery and maybe your filthy tongue for a bit...!' She did as told, surprised when he didn't even turn around to see if she'd really sat down by him.

"Shino thought I might have the fur?" He repeated. Hinata tightened her whole body. She could tell that Shino wasn't wanted around her, despite how ridiculous she truly thought this to be. "...Yes. He also...told me about...that." By motioning with her hand, and hoping she didn't look like she was rudely pointing, she gestured to Kiba's claws--which she admitted now were just that, claws--and agonizingly slowly his eyes floated down to look at his own hand. "Claws." He stated simply. She nodded at him, looking away. She hoped he would figure what she meant, since at the moment he seemed more...intensely calm. His eyes widened and donned a curious, realizing look she'd seen on him before; a more familiar one, she might add, which made her more at ease. "Oh." Soon again, though, they became the Sasuke-like hard stare, and returned to glaring into the fire.

"Well, you know he's one, too, right?"

"Y-Yes." She nodded swiftly. "A bug demon. And Kurenai is...is essence." Kiba's fists clenched. "And Shino told you? Shino?"

"He wasn't doing anything but helping me! Same as Kurenai!" She defended immediately, trying to reason with him in his own ways. "Kurenai is a female." He said flatly, as though it were the most obvious fact of Earth. Hinata decided to ignore this and continued. "I was-I was...I was scared when I was lost in the hall, looking for you and my diary--"At this point Hinata paused briefly to realize she'd brought the diary in here with her, and she was in fact sitting on it--"and the second time he just w-wanted to help me...help me understand why I couldn't leave, and n-now I do." At this he turned his full body towards her, looking with searching eyes, letting her see all of his face instead of just the left half. But this wasn't the best thing for her to see at the time.

Hinata slapped her hand across her mouth and choked back a cry. Kiba's right cheek had 5 red, long marks crawling down it. Two of them had gone over his eye and the end of one of them was still bleeding. "What--What...What happened? Someone cut you! Ah!--Who?" The brunette boy tossed his head, shaking his hair, and made a smirk. Not like the few she'd seen creep onto his face before. No, this one was happy, almost prideful--a face she recognized from Sakura many times, when she told Sasuke off. "Just Kurenai." He laughed. "A warning claw. Told me you're scared enough already; and to back off of you...Can't say it worked!" The last sentence reminded Hinata that she'd almost forgotten her growing detest for him.

Apparently not seeing her horrified face, Kiba continued, "It's fine, it'll go away soon...But...you said you knew why you can't leave?" Feeling her ears warming, Hinata looked away with wide eyes to look at the quite interesting floor. "...Y-Y-Yes." Since she wasn't looking, Hinata could only hear and feel the shift on the bed as he turned away from the direction of the fireplace and moved closer, and soon enough felt his breath on her ear. Quite warm, she felt. "Shino's never wrong." He whispered.

Of all times on Earth, of all times in this place in which Hinata had yelled and snapped, she wished she could again. Of all times Sakura's enraged spirit and filthy tongue could have blessed her...it wasn't now. She was frozen to the spot, with a tall boy breathing down her neck. Was that his hand coming closer, or her eyes feeling the blur of firelight?

Nope, it was a hand. She was quite sure of that when it decided to rest on her shoulder. She kept her head down, staring at the bedspread and her own tense fingers. If she turned one way, she'd see his hand, complete with claws, rubbing her shoulder that was starting to feel very relaxing, or the rest of him, probably staring at her with an emotion she'd rather not see. "No..." She heard him say, though she wasn't sure if it was directed to her. "Shino has never been wrong once in his life. He speaks the truth and the facts...He knows that I'm starting to like you..."

Hinata felt her ears getting hot.

"Your name is so soft and pretty...and suites you so well, you know? It's small but beautiful!"

Very hot ears.

"Small and beautiful is exactly what I would say." He moved closer, using both his hands to pull her back against him, until she leaned back onto his chest. She still looked down and away from him, not moving a single muscle. You are beautiful, Hinata."

Burning ears!

"I hope you're not dead from being so tight." He laughed. "I'll help with that. I'm good at it." Slowly and surely she felt the hands again, both on her back this time, moving up and down and releasing the furious tightness in her muscles. Her hands remained in tight fists, however loose her shoulders and back became. "Still uncomfortable..." He sighed, and she felt him shake his head. "Gotta get rid of that. You wanna meet Akamaru?"

"Akama--your...your dog?"

"Shino?"

"Shino's not a dog!"

"Stupid. Did Shino tell you I had a dog?"

"Oh." Hinata closed her eyes and bit her tongue, feeling a burning wave of embarrassment. A feeling she'd known all her life, but would never get used to. Never. "Um...yes. He said it was little and white." Kiba made an approving sound. "He is! Come on, he's probably with Haku and Keiga." As Kiba stood up and stretched, yawning and cracking his muscles as he's seen Hinata do in one of their first meetings, Hinata herself was taking an opportunity. She took her diary from under her rump where she'd "hidden" it through that whole little episode, and slid it under his bed. The deep red covers nearly touched the floor, and it would be hidden for sure. He wouldn't look at it again.

"Ahhh...okay, that was good. Ready?" Before waiting for an answer, he took her small hand in his rougher, large one and pulled her along out of the room. Hinata noticed that Shino had gone. Well, then again, he had closed the door. She looked back at Kiba's bed, more towards the floor. She could come back later and get it from under there. Undoubtedly, she'd be going back in there soon enough.

666

April 5th, 2:19 PM

666

"You...read? Books?" The reply was coarse and completely indignant. "Of course I read! What the hell kind of person would I be if I didn't know how to read? A retard, that's what I'd be! And I'm not a retard, as you can see." This made her laugh, despite her detest towards the boy.

Kiba had led Hinata up and down endless stairways and corridors, turning around various times, either at a dead end or in the middle of an average hallway. After talking to himself several times, asking Hinata questions about navigation, and answering said questions himself, and having an odd run-in with a purple haired woman Hinata saw in the parlor, named Anko, (Hinata believed she was insane, and became afraid of her from then on) Kiba had found a huge set of double doors at the end of a ridiculously long hallway. They were crafted from cherry wood, as Hinata observed, what with being an "elegant" Hyuuga. Kiba didn't seem to care, only commenting that the wood was "shiny" and leaving it at that.

He'd had a serious conversation with Hinata, (or himself, considering he answered all the questions he asked her) about how to open the doors, apparently not noticing the rectangular, gold plates on the doors, suggesting one had to push them open rather than pull. He had backed up halfway into the corridor, so far back Hinata could scarcely see him, ran straight into the doors and slammed them open with his shoulder. After Hinata was finished worriedly berating him for possibly scraping the wood, Kiba had turned her away from the door, ignored he fact that Hinata practically jumped into the air as he touched her, and forced her to look at the room.

It was a library. A library as tall as a church and a half, with incredibly high walls and a suddenly-;rounded ceiling and a dozen windows and skylights, all stained glass, painted into pictures of various beasts and creatures. The biggest windows were smack in the middle of the walls, making a space where books didn't dominate. The smallest, well, the smallest-looking, were high up in the ceiling, and from the floor, their shapes couldn't be made out, even with Hinata's spectacular vision. The walls themselves were completely taken up with shelves, and the shelves were filled to the rim with a hundred-million books, all colors, all organized, all around the room. Several rolling ladders were positioned high or low on the walls, ready to be walked upon for one to grab any book they pleased. The floor was smooth and shone with a recent polish, topped in several places with huge sofas and coffee tables, some stacked neatly with books and others empty of all items. It was the biggest room young Hinata had seen in her life. For some reason the hugeness of the room made her ears warm.

"I...I...It's...This...It's HUGE!"

The word echoed all around the gigantic place, bouncing back and forth almost pleasantly. Kiba laughed at the echoes until his own were all around the room. Soon enough it was replaced with a repeating bark. Looking over, and not seeing the demon boy's mouth move, Hinata felt quiet terror growing in her heart. Who was...?

"Arf, arf, arf, RUFF!"

"Akamaru! Here, come here! Meet Hinata!"

Before the small girl had even a chance to turn around, she was tackled to the hard floor by something so fast and white she couldn't see what it was. Within the moment, the blurred thing stuck out it's tongue and proceeded to eat her alive while it's furiously-beating tail thwacked her on the stomach over and over again. She was going to die. 'God, save me! Get this monster off me! AAAAAAAAH!'

But then the nightmare ended, and the thing was taken off.

"Oh, God...Jesus Christ, what the goddamn hell was that?!"

She slapped her hands over her mouth and screwed her eyes tightly shut. Sakura's filthy vocabulary...not needed right now, thank you! "You gonna open your eyes sometime today? Akamaru's not always in the library." Disregarding the odd notion that any dog would hang out in a library, Hinata took a risk She opened one eye just a slit and saw the outline of Kiba's slate-blue coat, and something little in his arms. She opened that eye fully but kept the other one shut. You never know, you know. "It's just Akamaru! My dog, remember? He doesn't bite unless I tell him to...and he wouldn't bite you anyway, if he likes you enough to pounce like that at first meeting!"

She barely had the courage to open both eyes. But they came open soon enough to see the little white dog, panting and wagging it's tail in Kiba's arms. She also noticed that the claw marks that had been on his cheek only 15 minutes ago were nearly gone. Had he healed that fast? Perhaps it was a demon's perk--

"Arf!" Her attention was drawn back to the dog. Was that the beast? That little thing as big as a duck had knocked her off her own feet and practically eaten her alive?! "Arf, arf!" It yipped, flailing it's little paws towards Hinata. Well. Apparently it was the beast that had about eaten her alive and knocked her off her own feet. Well.

Kiba set the dog down at his feet, and to Hinata's amazement, it stood where it was. "See? He's nice. If you just sit down and let him get to know you for a minute or two..."

"That thing isn't coming near me again!"

"Aww! Givvim a chance, ple-e-e-e-ease?" The dog whined along with him. A little scrap of fur, it seemed, but a super tough one. It had enough power to knock me totally over and keep me down on my back. But now it looked so...adorable.

"...Oh...uh..." That face. That cute face, and those lovely eyes. She could lose my own mind in them. It was crazy, unfair! That annoyingly adorable show of whining and pleading...it was almost pathetic. But puppy eyes won over everyone and everything. It was such a cute display that Hinata began to run out of words to describe it.

...Akamaru looked pretty pitiful, too.

So she nodded, quick so as to keep some dignity in her. Kiba motioned for her to sit down at the nearest couch, and she did. Right after, the little white thing called Akamaru seemed to fly straight up off the ground and into her lap. He was licking her hands, wrists and face all in the same second, barking every other minute. Through the panting and the barking and the licking, she could faintly hear Kiba laughing at the whole thing. Akamaru put his front paws on her collarbone and stopped licking enough for Hinata to look him in his slit-like little eyes. She felt a message in them, the way some people could understand each other just by giving a sort of look.

Friend?

Hinata tensed tighter than a drum. What was that? She hadn't thought that word! Where had it...? She hadn't been thinking at all? Where had it come from? The dog? Was it Akamaru?

Friend? The voice in her head came again. Hinata, friend? New friend?

It was Akamaru, no question. The eager look on those eyes and on that face, and in the way that the tail wagged...how the hell was he speaking to her? And how, in her mind could he be talking in her mind? 'Perhaps I should...think something back...!'

Um...um...yes.

Akamaru jumped up and down in her lap. Hinata is friend! Yay! Hee-hee...will not tell Kiba-friend!

Hinata's eyes went wide. You're not going to tell...Kiba?

Akamaru's slit-like eyes opened, almost creepily. Hehehe...Kiba-friend doesn't know all Akamaru's secrets! She tried not to give anything away in her expression. She hoped it worked, as Kiba was still on the floor laughing, so he didn't notice the utter shock in Hinata's face, had there been any. She couldn't tell if she had it in her face or not. Kiba doesn't know you can talk to me...to others...in my--their--head? The dog wagged his tail and licked her cheek twice. Kiba-friend does not know! Hehe! Hinata-friend keep secret, please? She nodded right away.

Turning her attention back to Kiba, who had been rolling on the floor laughing their whole "conversation" hoping she could distract him and not blab out the new secret, that his dog could telepathically communicate. Then again, even if he did know how to read as he claimed before, he may not know what those two words meant...hopefully, he wasn't the best reader in the world.

"And keep out of here, Naruto! You can't read worth shit, so why the hell are you in the library?!"

"Well, I just wanted to find a nice bedtime story for tonight, but I guess if dog-bitch is in here, I'm not allowed!"

Hinata focused her blurry eyes onto the new person in the room. Oh! It was that blonde person! Now that she recalled it, Kurenai had introduced her to several people in the parlor at their eating time. That Anko lady from the hallway had been one of them, and this blonde boy was one, too. He had seemed too absorbed in his ramen at the time to even pay attention to her, but he had found time between bowls to look at her, smile, wave hello and go back to eating.

Now that she got a good look, she could actually see him. He was blonde, that was for sure, almost blindingly so, with such bright yellow-gold spiked hair it was probably absorbing sunlight as she breathed. His eyes, sparkling ocean-blue, were bright and happy, even more than Moonbeam's lovely, energetic blue ones. He was just as tall as Kiba, though the spiked hair added a few inches. He wore orange pants and a black-and-orange jacket, unzipped, showing bare, tan skin. Essentially, if one was looking past the long-sleeve jacket, he was shirtless.

Ears warming. Fast.

"Hey, I know you!" All of a sudden, the blonde boy was pointing at her. Akamaru was no longer in her lap and she was alone against his gleeful stare. Not good. "I saw you with Kurenai at lunch today! I was just eating with Haku, and then you came right up and said hi to me!" Hinata tried to smile. She hadn't actually said hi to him, rather, hidden behind Kurenai and feebly waved from around her arm. Naruto walked up to her and crouched down, looking into her eyes. Wow...very...pretty blue eyes he had. "Uzumaki Naruto, fox demon at your service, lady!" He performed a fake bow and got up again, looking down at her, while blinking almost childishly. "Ooh...Kiba wasn't bragging around the house all day for nothing--you are cute!"

Even before her ears could get hotter, Naruto was knocked to the side by a clawed fist. The suddenness of it made Hinata jump back into the couch, knees to her chest and arms tight and straight to her sides. Naruto was on his back and rubbing his neck, now bearing two bleeding scrapes on his exposed collarbone with Kiba standing above him, both hands fisted and two dangerously sharp and long teeth--no, fangs--protruding out through his lip. He took a deep breath and made a sound that was so much like a growl Akamaru whined and backed away under a coffee table. Naruto froze to the spot, staring wide-eyed up at Kiba. He made no sound.

"What," The dog demon growled, "did.. I...tell you? Huh?"

Naruto's lips moved, but there was no sound.

"I said--" But before he went on, Naruto interrupted, "I know, I know--don't touch..."

"Right!" Naruto lifted himself up, and dusted his hair and glanced quickly at Hinata. "Sorry," He said quickly. He grasped a book from the nearest table, gave another look to Hinata and left through the double doors where Kiba and Hinata had first entered. Hinata stared with gigantic, trembling eyes while Kiba growled after Naruto until he could barely be seen, and then again when the tiny orange shape turned down the far corner of the hallway. He wasn't anywhere near anymore.

Hinata stared down at the spot of floor where Naruto had fallen on his back. Droplets of blood were spattered on the perfect wood. "I don't really care if you miss your home." She snapped her head back up to look at him. He stared at her with that original rapist smile, the one she'd first seen on him, and hated and feared. "You can keep in contact. Write them a letter. Akamaru or Haku will have it sent. I'll have this done for you since I never wanted you sad. I really didn't...I still don't." It was a compassionate statement, but the terribly wicked smile took all the good feeling away.

He came up close faster than any person should have...put his hands on both sides, one beside one leg and one beside the other. His face was mere inches from hers. The problem of burning ears almost immediately spread all over her face. "I want your heart to soar, precious." He breathed. "Always be happy." His eyes sparkled. With wickedness, mischief...love?

"Please stay," He whispered.

Hinata was frozen, frozen on the outside, with the exception of her fiery cheeks, aflame with a brightly-burning blush. Inside...was something burning? Her stomach felt so...odd. So twisted, so churned, so tight. So uncomfortable.

What could she say? She wasn't allowed to leave anyway. She didn't even know the way out of the building, and apparently the guard wouldn't let her through, despite being a kind man. If she said no, would she be hit? Would she be clawed in his anger as Naruto had been? Kiba's claw scars from Kurenai had healed in minutes, likely because he was a demon...they must have healed faster. They must have. But she was only human. It could take days, weeks, to recover from a strike from him. Would he strike her at all? But what if she said yes? Sakura, Neji, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Father, Hanabi, Ino... She would never see any of them again. And what of...

Moonbeam and Padfoot?

Her precious cats? Her dearest companions, second only to her best friend Sakura? She would never see them again. All she had of them was a tuft of fur from Moonbeam.

I have your cat fur. What? Akamaru? Was he talking to her again? Hinata didn't dare avert her eyes from Kiba's, but listened closer for more. Yes, I have cat fur. Took it from strange bag when Kiba-friend did not look. Have it in the canine-house, where us dogs sleep. Keiga, Kuro, Vandrer, and others, too. Outside. In garden. Safe. Hinata smiled when she heard this from Akamaru. The demon boy in front of her took this as a positive sign. There was no missing the bright hope in his eyes.

But...what if she did say yes? Just agree to stay in a big mansion forever, living with a bunch of demon people? But that look in his eyes...it was getting to her..yet again. 'Dammit...Sakura, Neji, Moonbeam and Padfoot...I swear I will keep you in contact. I swear on my heart. Cross it and cut it, should I not hold my word. Right. That's how it goes.'

"Well?"

There was a pause. A significant one, one must add.

"...Yes."

She'd only just finished saying the word! Before Hinata had known it, she'd been swept up right off the couch in a near-backbreaking embrace. She didn't return the action, though accepted it. And one should have seen! Hinata barely even flinched!

666

This should have been counted as satisfactory. I worked VERY hard on this! I tried to submit it Saturday night but the server or whatever was screwed so I couldn't. Today, Sunday morning, (I didn't go to church, haha:D) it STILL wasnt' working! But I really wanted to upload this, so I hatched an awesome plan. Chapter 5 used to be the AN note where I told you guys why I couldn't update anything in June or most of July. Since I can't upload any new documents, I got rid of the AN note! Yup. I deleted the note, and moved chapters 6 and 7 back one. So now, this chapter, what should have been chapter 8, is now chapter 7 because I deleted one and moved some back. Anyhow, I worked hard on writing this, and figuring a way to get it to you guys without uploadign a new document. (Exporting existent ones helped a lot though.)

But before I go down and do that I have to dedicate this chapter real quick. This may be a cute little honor for those who get it or may be something you don't give a crap about. I don't care.

This chapter would have to go to Blackxheart, especially since I discovered her sweet story Imaginary Friend which I think is one of the best things I've read in a long time, especially for GaaxSaku.

Also to PeptoDismal since I can't get over how awesome and totally truthful that name is. Really. This should be the goddamn slogan.

…Also to everyone who wanted to stick me with a needle for not updating for two months…ahem.

I’m on my grandpa’s computer now. It took me awhile to submit my Pokemon story to deviantART, per request of my online friend who doesn't know about my account here, and now I am uploading this...or uh, editing an exported document. Anyhow, this turned out to be 17 pages long. A job well done for me. Almost noon now. Grandparents will be home any minute from church so i should get off my Gramps' computer. Have a good read. It SHOULD be a good one.

Ta…Storm