Breaking Point

Summary: Kiba knows that Hinata will never love him, but that doesn’t mean that he has to sit back and watch as Naruto breaks her heart over and over again. KibaHina, one sided HinaNaru.

Author’s Note: I’m a huge fan of the KibaHinaNaru triangle, and so of I just HAD to write a fic for it! And for the record, I’m currently pulling for Kiba to get the girl. If you don’t like KibaHina, then don’t read. Same goes if you don’t like NaruHina. Oh, and this takes place in what I think might be the post-Shippuuden world. Because I want that baka Sasuke to come back and realize he loves Sakura darn it!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and therefore do not know WHO Hinata is going to end up with. Also, I haven’t had this beta’d.

Breaking Point

Hinata’s pale eyes were narrowed in fierce concentration, the veins around them protruding with the activation of byakugan. Her teammates had been helping her for the past several hours with training of a variety of forms, the girl ever striving to become better, more worthy of the title she had been granted at birth, Hyuuga Heiress. Her father had long ago recognized that she had far greater potential than he had initially given her credit for, and Neji had gone from despising herr to being very protective over the several years since her graduation from Konoha’s ninja academy. Her skills had improved immensely, but she wasn’t going to stop trying to improve further. After all, as she often reminded herself with a smile, Naruto hadn’t stopped trying to improve!

“That’s enough for today,” Shino remarked, adjusting the sunglasses that hid his gaze. Though the three had all moved up to the chuunin level, with Kiba and Shino having already moved on to jounin positions, Hinata’s friends had continued to aid her in her training.

“Shino’s right,” Kiba was grinning as usual, the bright red fang marks upon h is cheeks seeming to make the smile stand out even more, “You shouldn’t wear yourself out, Hinata! Besides, at the rate your going, you’ll make jounin in no time!”

Akamaru, the large dog that was Kiba’s constant companion, gave a nod. In the years since his human friend had moved up in rank to chuunin the canine had picked up several useful words, though for whatever reason he didn’t often use them. Akamaru’s nod was accompanied by a single panted, “Yeah!”

“You think so?” Hinata blushed mildy at the compliment, giving a small smile to her comrades. A pale hand reached up and scratched Akamaru’s ear, causing him to wag his tail happily.

“Of course! You’re great, Hinata!” Kiba threw an arm around the girl’s shoulders to reinforce the assertion, “You need to stop being so self conscious!”

“Thank you, Kiba-kun,” the kunoichi smiled brightly at her ever enthusiastic friend.

“Kiba…” Shino remarked after an extended silence, causing the other shinobi to blink at him, “I need to speak with you…it’s a private matter.”

“Uhh…sure…” Kiba quirked a brow at his comrade, not used to the genius ever asking for any help in private matters. The puzzled jounin withdrew his arm from Hinata’s shoulder and moved towards the

Aburame boy, turning to call over his shoulder to the pale eyed girl staring at the pair in confusion, “This’ll just take a sec, kay, Hinata? Stick around and we’ll walk you home!”

Kiba joined his quiet friend behind a nearby tree, unnerved by the manner in which Shino was staring at him with a gaze hidden by dark glasses. Normally it was a habit that the wilder boy was used to, but something in the air just made the whole thing seem strange. It would be hard to explain to one without Kiba’s animal instinct, but he could just sense that things were about to get very uncomfortable, “What’s up, Shino? You never talk about ‘private matters.’”

Shino sighed, shaking his head, though his eyes, as best as any observer could tell, remained focused on Kiba, “I know it’s none of my business, and normally I wouldn’t intrude…”

“What on earth are you talking about?” The normally enthusiastic boy was shifting uncomfortably in his place now.

“Kiba, your almost twenty.” As the more serious of the jounin spoke, his friend stared blankly, not understanding what the other was getting at, “Do you think you’re the only one who’s ever going to have feelings towards Hinata?”

“H-huh? Wh-what are you talking about?” The young mans cheeks grew to a bright shade of pink, giving the appearance that his fang marks had faded slightly.

“Sooner or later, Naruto will have to give up on Sakura, when that happens, he’s bound to start realizing Hinata’s feelings towards him. And even if he doesn’t, someone is bound to come along sooner or later…” Shino looked over at their female friend, who was patiently petting Akamaru as she waited, “I think that she and Naruto are the only two in the village who haven’t realized what’s going on…”

Spotting the dumbfounded look in Kiba’s eyes, the normally quiet jounin continued, “You can’t keep denying that you care about her. Your jealousy when Naruto’s around is obvious.”

“I just don’t want her to get hurt! That’s all!” Kiba insisted, still flushing brightly, “One of these day’s that idiot’s gonna break her heart for good! I don’t want that to happen!”

“Just think about what I said,” And with that Shino turned and walked away, leaving the two remaining ninja to walk home on their own.

“Hey!” Kiba shouted after the departing form, but was ignored. Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pants, the jounin made his way back to where his dog was enjoying a nice belly rub, “Oi, Hinata…let’s go.”

“Shino-kun’s not coming?” The pale eyed girl looked up in confusion, but stood from where she had been kneeling at Akamaru’s side.

“Nah, he’s got something to do I guess…” Kiba’s heart was beating a little faster, a feeling of nervousness overwhelming him. It wasn’t that he usually felt this way, nor that he never felt this way. In fact, there were times, on missions together when they were the only two left unable to sleep at night, or after

Naruto had failed once again to notice a subtle overture on Hinata’s part leaving herr to use Kiba’s shoulder to cry on, when the nervousness filled him so completely he had to walk away.

“Alright…I guess it’s just us then.” Hinata smiled at her friend, and began to walk, leaving Kiba frozen in his spot a moment before she turned around to look at him, “Are you alright, Kiba-kun?”

“Uh..y-yeah!” The jounin ran to catch up once again to his lower ranked comrade, “Just thinking…”

As Kiba reached Hinata’s side, the pair began to walk once more, Akamaru following closely behind, “About what Shino-kun had to say? Is he alright?”

“Yeah, he’s fine, don’t worry.” Kiba smiled at Hinata’s care for her friends. He knew that she thought she was still to weak, despite her amazing increase in both strength and ability, despite the fact she had proven herself to everyone. The jounin thought that her greatest strength was probably her ability to support others, and to give them the strength they needed, although that byakugan wasn’t a bad deal either! And the kekki genkai did have the nice side effect of giving her the most exotically beautiful eyes that Kiba had ever seen. His heart was beating faster again as he looked into those eyes. Maybe Shino had been right. No, there was no maybe about it. Kiba had realized way back in his genin days, which seemed like ages ago, that there was a very special place in his heart that only Hinata could fill.

He stopped, reaching out and taking her by the elbow to stop her as well, “Hey…Hinata?”

The pale eyed chuunin turned to face him, her dark hair, far longer than in those distant genin days of memory, fluttered in the air around her as she moved, “What’s the matter, Kiba-kun?”

“There…there’s something I have to say…” As he took in her puzzled expression, Kiba felt a lump forming in his throat. His cheeks were flushed so deeply that his crimson fang marks were barely visible, “I should have said it a long time ago, actually…Hinata, I-”

His sentence was cut off as another young ninja came running up to the pair, this one wearing the uniform vest of a chuunin over a bright black and orange outfit. The last person Kiba had wanted to see at that precise moment, “Hey, Kiba! Hinata!”

As Naruto ran towards the pair, waving enthusiastically, Hinata’s face went pink. Kiba’s, however, lost it’s deep red color, and a frown replaced his previously nervous expression. It wasn’t that the jounin disliked the hyper boy, in fact they were actually pretty good friends. Well, so long as Hinata wasn’t involved in their time together, “What is it, Naruto?”

Naruto skidded to a stop, glancing between Hinata and Kiba, a slow smile forming on his face, “Eh? Am I interrupting something?”

“N-no!” Hinata blushed, her fingers poking together nervously in a habit retained from childhood.

At the same time, Kiba was folding his arms over his chest, “Maybe. What do you want?”

“Ah, I just wanted to know if you’d seen Sakura! She sure has been disappearing a lot lately!” Naruto replied, a hand rubbing the back of his neck as he grinned.

“O-oh…” Hinata’s violet gaze fell at the mention of Naruto’s obsession, “I…I think…she’s with Sasuke…”

“Probably,” Kiba nodded confirmation to Hinata’s speculation, “Those two have been attatched at the hip ever since you got him back here!”

“Oh…” Naruto’s grin turn into a disappointed frown, “So much for the movie I got tickets for! Hey, here Kiba, maybe you can use them! I’ve got no one else to take, and I don’t really want to go alone.”

Kiba cast a glance sideways at Hinata, practically able to hear her heart breaking at Naruto’s words. She’d clearly been hoping, however feebly, that she could at least be a backup plan. Shaking his head the jounin muttered, “Keep the tickets. There’s gotta be someone you can take.”

“I dunno…Maybe I’ll see if Neji wants them! He could take Tenten or something! Hey, if you see Sakura, tell her to call me, ‘kay?” With that Naruto took off in search of someone to give the tickets to.

“Sometimes I can’t believe such an idiot got to be a ninja at all!” Kiba fumed, before turning to see Hinata on the verge of tears.

“H-he’s no…an idiot…” Hinata defended, her pale gaze gaze shining with unshed tears.

“Aww…come on Hinata! Don’t cry!” Kiba waved his hands feebly in front of him, but he knew that it was pointless, Hinata was hurt by Naruto’s lack of interest, and now she was angry as well, at Kiba for insulting Naruto, “Dammit! Wait here, kay?”

“Kiba-kun?” She blinked away the tears as she watched him race off, “Wh-where…”

But Kiba didn’t hear the rest of her question, he was bounding down the disty streets of Konoha, his dark gaze focused on a figure ahead of him who was walking slowly, staring at the tickets in his hands. The jounin skidded to a halt as he reached the other boy, in a lightning fast move he had grabbed hold of the collar of Naruto’s vest and slammed him against the wall.

“What the!” Naruto gasped, winded by the impact, which had been so hard the wall behind the ninja was cracked slightly, “Kiba! What the hell’s wrong with you?”

“Listen up, Naruto!” Kiba growled, his eyes shut as he tried to control his own anger, “I’m sick of sitting around watching you break her heart! It’s time you opened your damn eyes!”

“What are you talking about” The blonde chuunin shoved Kiba’s hand away, “Who’s heart am I breaking? What?”

“Hinata’s!” Kiba screamed in frustration, his hands balled into fists at his side as his eyes snapped opedn to glare at Naruto, “Are you really that dense?! She’s been practically in love with you ever since we were at the academy!”

“Huh?” The blonde tilted his head, clearly confused, gesturing with his hands to emphasize his point, he continued. Pointing one finger off to each side then bringing them together, “But I though you two…”

“Hinata and me?” The jounin let out a bitter bark of laughter, “Don’t I wish There’s so many wonderful things about her that she can’t see, and she wastes her time going after you! You’re so damn hung up on Sakura, you can’t even see it!”

“I knew you liked her!” Naruto’s first reaction was to grin, an expression that then fell into a bewildered look, “Wait a sec…Hinata…likes me?”

“Yeah, not that I have any idea why!” Kiba looked away with a look of utter fury on his face, “Why the hell is she wasting her time waiting around for an idiot like you? She could get anyone she wanted! I mean, she’s gorgeous, right? She’s got the most wonderful eyes, and she’s sweet, and kind, and gentle, and smart, and strong and…and…”

“Uh…” Rather than the reaction Kiba had been expecting (That is to say Naruto insisting that he wasn’t an idiot) the other boy was just standing there mouth agape, finger pointed at the space behind Kiba.

“And she’s right behind me, isn’t she?” The jounin turned to see that he was correct. Her face so red that one could wonder if there was a drop of blood left anywhere else, Hinata was standing behind Kiba, frozen in shock. At her side was Akamaru, looking thoroughly embarrassed for his friend.

“Dammit!” Kiba was red as well now, muttering curses under his breath.

“K-kiba-kun…” Hinata spoke so softly one could barely hear. But Kiba paid no mind. Humiliated he turned on his heel and ran in the opposite direction, “K-Kiba-kun! W-w-wait…”

But Kiba was gone. He ran until he was unable to run any longer, finding himself in a vast field, filled as far as the eye could see with bright yellow flowers, and sank to the ground among the blossoms, hidden from view, his knees folded against his chest, his elbows upon his knees, his fists pressed so tightly against his eyes that his world was exploding in yellow and red dots behind the closed lids.

He could recall a time that seemed so long ago, when Naruto had left the village to train with that old pervert Jiraiya, leaving Hinata alone and heartbroken. They all believed and hoped that Naruto would return one day, but none waited so eagerly as the Hyuuga heiress. She’d stand so often by the gate to the village, watching the horizon and waiting for the blonde genin’s form to appear on the road.

“Is he really that worth waiting for?” Kiba had asked, walking up behind her one night during this ritual, “I mean…maybe you should just forget him…”

“I can’t, Kiba-kun…” Hinata had flushed as she whispered her reply, “He…he inspires me…because of him…I know that I can be better…that…that I have someone who believes in me…”

“It’s not like he’s the only one.” Kiba had insisted, leaning back against the wall, watching the pale eyed beauty , “You’ve got a whole village that cares about you, you know?”

“Yes,” Hinata smiled faintly, turning to look at her friend, “But…because of Naruto-kun’s faith in me…I can believe in myself.”

Kiba sighed softly as the memory played over in his head. He’d been an idiot for ever thinking that she’d see him as more than a friend. After all, she was devoted to Naruto, and to his faith in her, whatever that meant! Kiba had just as much faith in Hinata as that blonde idiot! There was a bark, and Kiba turned to see Akamaru standing behind him, at the large dog’s side a pale eyes heiress looked worriedly at Kiba.

The jounin turned his gaze again to the canine, “Traitor…”

Akamaru whined softly, but Hinata calmed the animal with a pat on the head before moving towards Kiba, “Y-you…ran away…”

Kiba remained silent, turning to stare hard at the ground, hoping that if he said nothing, Hinata would just leave and forget the whole thing. No such luck.

“K-kiba…why? Why…would you just…run like that?” The heiress was pink as she spoke, her voice soft and fumbling in a manner he’d never imagined hearing addressed to him, “W-was…that what you…wanted to talk about? D-do…do you…really think those things?”

“Of course I do…” Kiba muttered, his face as pink as hers, “I…I always have…”

Hinata smiled softly, sitting beside him in the tall yellow flowers, “I…I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be. I already know you don’t feel the same way.” The jounin couldn’t even bring himself to look at her.

“N-naruto-kun…asked if I would go to the movie…” She was going to say more, but Kiba interrupted.

“Good. It’s about time that idiot did something right. You’d better go, don’t want to keep him waiting.” Hinata could hear the pain in his voice, but Kiba was far too proud to admit that he had been hurt. He would wait till she had gone, then shed a lonely tear.

“I…I said no…” Hinata informed her friend.

“What? Why the hell would you do that?” Kiba turned to face her, his eyes wide, “You’ve been waiting for something like this since we were twelve!”

“Y-yes…” His friend flushed deeply, “But…today there’s something more important. Today Kiba-kun needs me…”

“Hinata…” Kiba shook his head with an angry sigh, “No, you should go! I mean, it’s what would make you happy, right?”

“I…I’m not sure anymore.” The pale eyed beauty whispered softly, “I think…we have a lot to talk about…”

Author’s Note: This has been my first Naruto oneshot…I hope you liked it, and that I wasn’t TOO out of character. If you like my stuff, check out my homepage for info on projects and upcoming stories!