[Aim Log] [A Little Less Conversation] [Kiba Hinata Hanabi] [Closed]

[shy_bird]

All parts played by respective players. Hanabi is played by Hitsu!player, with special permission from the moderators.



Hinata paced back and forth in her room, the gnawing worry in her gut only growing more and more by the minute. The newly-returned Snuggles sat on her bed, watching her closely, small head tilted to the side as her mistress worked her way back and forth across the floor.

Had this been a mistake? What if she'd misinterpreted, and Hanabi hadn't actually wanted to meet up? Although then why would she agree to meet with her sister? But what if their father came with her, and forced her back home? Neji had told her to be careful, and she was trying to be. Hanabi would never do something like that, would she? And Hiashi couldn't force her to return to the house anyway, right?

...And where was Kiba? He said he'd be there around two and it was almost then, wasn't it? Or was she supposed to go meet him? She realised with a jolt she couldn't quite remember, and the fear gripping her increased.

She needed to sit down.

Snuggles moved, allowing her room, and Hinata lay down on the bed, barely mindful to not muss her clothing and hair. She'd put it up in a quick bun, and while some hairs fell down and around her face, she didn't really want it looking like a mess. And her skirt and sweater were newly cleaned and not wrinkled and would Hanabi even care if she had slightly wrinkled clothes?

There was a knock then, however, and she sat up quickly. Was on her feet and hurrying towards the door only a few moments later, stopping long enough to hug her kitten and kiss her head between her ears and then shut the bedroom door. And then she was at the front door and opening it after a quick glance through the view hole.

"H-hello..."

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Kiba apologized, stepping inside just far enough to wrap an arm around Hinata's shoulders and press a quick kiss to her brow. Then he was moving away again, stepping back to regard her with his head cocked slightly to the side. "You're looking really pretty. Man, we go outside, I'm gonna have to beat all the other guys off!"

The long flowing skirt, all different shifting shades of earth tones, and the thin cream-colored sweater helped a lot; so did the gentle up-sweep of the hair and the faint touch of make-up. But beyond that...Kiba still couldn't understand how a girl as classy and elegant and beautiful as Hinata could be willing to put up with him.

He really had made an effort today though; he knew how important this meeting with her sister was to Hinata, and he wasn't going to let her down if he could help it in any way. So he'd shaved, and slicked his hair with a touch of gel, and borrowed a tie from Shino and spent ten minutes in front of the mirror trying to tie it straight.

He'd finally had to bug Chouji to give him a hand, which was why he was late.

"Th-that's alright," she said quietly, blushing from the quick kiss. Kiba could always make her smile, but he could also quite easily make her blush. She'd long ago decided that was a good thing. "You're here, so..."

She allowed herself to look him over, pleased. While she had meant it when she said he was fine the way he was, seeing him like this, in a nice shirt and tie and (relatively) clean shaven--he'd missed a small spot beneath the right side of his jaw--wasn't bad at all. He was handsome no matter what, but there was something slightly different about him now. Not worse, not better, just different.

Reaching out, she took ahold of his hands and smiled up at him.

"Thank you."

"Hey, sure," Kiba said, a little disconcerted--what was she thanking him for?

Promise of protection, he decided, and nodded firmly. "I'm here," he repeated, and meant it.

Except, of course, that unless they wanted to be late meeting her sister, they'd better not be here much longer. "You need to grab a purse or anything?" he asked. "Ready to go?"

She nodded and released his hands, moving to pick up a small purse off the counter. "Let's go then..."

Once they were out the door she turned and locked it, then reached out for his hand again after she'd replaced the key in her purse. A part of her felt foolish for being so clingy, but most of her was glad for his presence. She honestly wasn't sure how far she'd get without him there to help her along.

"She said to meet her at a small coffee shop a little away from the house. ...We'll have to take a bus or taxi to get there, though, because it's a bit of a walk and we don't have much time... I-I can pay though."

The stairs went by quickly while she talked, and suddenly they were at the front door and walking out into the cool air. She tightened her grip around his hand, stomach jittering.

Everything will be fine. She repeated the words over and over and hoped eventually she'd believe them.

Kiba lifted his face and breathed in deeply as they stepped outside the building; the air was crisp and cool, and even in the midst of the urban hustle he could smell traces of spring. Blossoming flowers, budding trees, earth slowly crackling awake from its winter-freeze. The temperature was just cool enough that he was glad he'd worn long sleeves, but warm enough that he wouldn't have minded walking across the city instead of cramming into a bus.

But Hinata wanted to get there soon, so he headed for the bus stop, her small slender hand cool in his big calloused one. He still marveled, sometimes, at how delicate she seemed; the top of her head just reached his chin, and next to him she seemed small enough to need protection from everything in the world.

I can protect you, he promised her, and tried to prove it to her, tall and warm and sheltering, all the way to the bus station and across the city and to the cafe.

Hyuuga Hanabi did not enjoy waiting, no matter what the excuse was. She had been at the coffee shop for twenty minutes already by the time she spotted her older sister walking in. And accompanied as well--Hinata had mentioned that she was bringing a friend along, although she hadn't said why.

It appeared said friend was an attractive, unknown male. Hanabi had almost expected Neji to come with Hinata, but apparently Hinata had found someone else for the job.

Hanabi sat up a little straighter as her sister and the other person approached the booth she was at. She also uncrossed her legs (not a lady-like habit, that), smoothing out her knee-length skirt from underneath the table. She had been waiting to order anything until the rest of the party had arrived--anything else was rude.

"Hello, Hinata," Hanabi said when her sister was within hearing range.

"H-Hanabi..." the elder girl said quietly, taking a seat across from her sister. "Sorry we're late..." She could give excuses, but she wasn't sure the other girl would accept them. And somehow, telling Hanabi that she'd had to take the bus system to get here from the bad part of town felt...almost belittling to her.

This entire trip's purpose was to try to get closer to her sister, not push her away with tales of bad streets and scary, leering men sitting across from her on the bus.

"Ah, um...this is Inuzuka Kiba." She indicated the man beside her, and thought she felt herself blush a bit and quickly tried to supress it. While she had no problems with being with Kiba (far from it), she wasn't sure how to tell her sister, especially not five seconds into their first meeting in a long time. So she decided to go with something safe. "...He lives in my building..."

Under normal circumstances, Kiba would've waved and greeted the girl with a cheerful "Hey!" before he slouched into his seat and dove into the conversation. But this was the sister Hinata was so desperate to reconnect with, and part of protecting her was making sure that dream couldn't be smashed, certainly not by anything he did. She wasn't introducing him as her boyfriend now, and that was okay with him; maybe it would be better to break the news a little at a time. He could still pose as her bodyguard if she wanted.

So he bowed a little, politely, and held out his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Hanabi," he said. "Sorry we kept you waiting; traffic was a--was difficult."

He smiled as warmly as he could, and hoped she wouldn't notice the near-slip.

Hanabi raised an eyebrow just slightly at his fumbling of the language, but took his hand briefly and murmured something polite. It wouldn't do to upset him or Hinata.

Honestly, Hanabi didn't know why she'd written to her sister, other than to thank her for the birthday gift. But writing back had ended up with them (and a stranger) in a coffee shop, sitting uncomfortably in the silence.

"Do you want to order something?" she asked her sister finally.

Hinata watched the two carefully, and felt a little of that knot in her stomach unravel when Hanabi shook his hand. It might not mean she liked Kiba, but she at least didn't hate him.

"Ah, y-yes." Food sounded rather good, and rather upsetting, at the moment. She'd spent most of the day worrying and hadn't eaten much more than a few slices of bread. As long as she could get something through the bundle of nerves that was her stomach, she'd like to eat.

She glanced at the small piece of printed paper that contained a menu, tried not to let her dismay show at the pricey list of items and finally settled on a sandwich and some tea. Once she was done, she set the menu down in front of her for one of them to look at, not sure if Hanabi had already looked it over and not sure if Kiba wanted food as well.

Wow. For these prices, Kiba'd have expected steak--cheap steak, at least. But despite his injured wrist he'd managed to keep up with his job at the hospital, so he had enough money to cover himself and Hinata with no problem... As long as neither of them got dessert.

He made his choice quickly, pushed the menu a little further to the left towards Hanabi, and glanced up to try and catch the eye of a server. That was a feat worthy of an award in itself, but persistence paid off; in a few moments a server made her way over to their table. Placing orders took only a few more minutes, and then the three of them were alone again, with the silence closing in.

Kiba cleared his throat with a feeling like he was jumping into the middle of a dog-fight. "So...Hanabi...Hinata mentioned you're still at school. What are your plans?"

"I'm taking honors classes right now," Hanabi said after a beat. She shouldn't have expected Hinata to say anything first. "After I graduate, I'm going to a university to study business so that I can be of use to our family."

It might not have been meant as it sounded.

Hinata frowned at that, her sister's choice of words only serving to increase the uneasy feeling she'd had all day. If any of them was of use to the Hyuuga family, it was Hanabi. At the least, she was a better student. At the most, she was looked highly upon by their father, and wasn't living in the bad part of town in an apartment complex that felt like it could fall apart with a strong gust of wind.

"...That's good," she finally managed to say, focusing a bit too much on the table. "I'm sure...you'll do well." And she was. Hanabi would exceed in anything she applied herself at, Hinata was positive.

The waitress chose that moment to bring them their drinks, however, and Hinata took ahold of the distraction a bit too quickly. That she was afraid of this conversation ashamed her, but she hadn't expected it to be anything but uncomfortable. Not for a while, anyway.

She was infinitely glad for Kiba's presence. It was good to have something stable and familiar to rely on.

Hanabi drank some of the tea she had ordered before speaking again. "School is going well for you? And Neji?" The last was an after-thought. Hanabi knew that her sister was living with Neji, but wasn't quite sure why Hinata had done it. So far as Hanabi knew, there was little reason why her cousin would allow her sister to live with him.

"...School is fine," Hinata answered, holding her cup in her hands but not drinking anything. "I'm doing well, and he is too. He's always studying or working though, s-so I don't see him much..." She hadn't known her sister really had any desire to know about their older cousin, but then she figured it was more for polite small-talk than any other reason.

She fiddled with the cup some more, glancing up at Hanabi and Kiba every now and then. The awkwardness wasn't going away as fast as she'd hoped it would. It's not like she's a stranger... This is Hanabi, and she's family, and...

"S-so...how are things back at...h-home...?" Her hands stilled on the cup after the question was asked, her breath catching slightly. She hadn't meant to ask that, hadn't wanted to bring up home at all, really. But the question was out now, and she couldn't take it back now.

All she could hope was that her hands didn't shake as she picked up the cup and took a long drink.

If there was one thing Hanabi had thought Hinata wouldn't ask about, it was home. And it seemed the question had surprised Hinata too, if the hitch in her breathing was anything to go on.

"The same as always," Hanabi said after a moment's silence. "The family business is going well."

What was she supposed to say? That Hiashi went into one of his dark moods whenever her sister or her cousin were even referenced? It was foolish of Hinata to think anything would be different then it had ever been.

"Th-that's...good..." She wasn't quite sure if that was a lie or not. On one hand, she did want her family to be well, but on the other, she didn't want anything to do with them besides Hanabi and Neji. Not anymore.

She cast a glance over at Kiba, sitting quietly and eating his sandwich, and wondered what he thought of all this. Maybe it had been wrong of her to bring him? She loved having him there, was so happy he'd agreed to come, but this couldn't be very engaging for him, listening to two sisters barely talk to one another.

She'd have to make it up to him. Make him some more jerky, or help him with any homework she could, or something.

But first she had to get past this. ...If only she could think of something to talk about.

"S-so...you've been healthy? Getting outside enough? Kiba-kun goes running everyday, maybe something like that? O-or sports...?" She flinched inwardly. Rambling was never a good sign.

Hanabi eyed the man sitting beside her sister when Hinata mentioned him. He seemed athletic enough to actually go running consistantly--Hanabi doubted her sister actually went running with him--so it seemed he didn't lie about little things.

"I don't do sports," Hanabi said. She dropped her hands to her lap. If she wasn't going to drink her tea, there was no point in fiddling with it. "Father thinks they're a waste of time when I could be studying."

Kiba'd been behaving himself pretty well up to this point. He'd drunk his lemonade and eaten his roast beef sandwich and listened to the sisters' stilted conversation, and he'd managed to keep his mouth shut and his opinions to himself.

At this point, though, he couldn't hold back anymore.

"Fat lot your dad knows about the world," he snorted. "I got into college cause of sports. No way I woulda made it anywhere if I hadn't been sweating blood out on the field. Lot more athletic scholarships out there than academic ones, anyway!"

Hinata blanched slightly at that. The last thing she wanted was for them to fight. "Ah, ah, um... O-our family i-isn't very big on sports... Which is a shame, but, um..." She didn't want to side with either one, really, because she didn't want to play favorites, but something told her she wasn't doing too well.

This no-name boy was insulting her father? "If you had to rely on your muscle to get into college, perhaps you shouldn't be there." Hanabi kept her voice even and her eyes hard. At least it explained why Hinata kept him around--all that muscle must have made her feel safe.

“My muscle got me into college," Kiba growled between gritted teeth, "because my family was too dirt-poor to pay for it otherwise, okay? I'm not--"

He bit back the rest of those angry words--he'd come here to support Hinata, not to pick a fight with her sister. Not to make things worse.

"Ah, p-please don't fight..." She hadn't meant for this. She'd only been trying to find something to talk about, not start a fight.

"H-Hanabi, please don't... There's nothing wrong with sports to help...and he really does deserve to go to school. S-so please don't fight..."

Hanabi kept her eyes on Kiba even as she talked to her sister. "It's not worth fighting about."

After a moment her eyes flickered to Hinata. "Why did you want to speak to me?"

"Then why'd you pick a fight in the first place?" Kiba muttered truculently, but at least he kept his voice down. He poked at his half-finished sandwich, no longer quite so hungry, then decided that discretion was probably the better part of valor. Or at least the better part of keeping Hinata happy.

So he forced himself to turn his attention back to his sandwich and his lemonade, and if he ripped at the roast-beef-and-sourdough a little more vigorously than before, he could always pass it off as actually being hungry.

Hinata felt bad, to say the least, and had no idea how to make the situation better. She felt like she'd offended both of the people she cared about, and no apology was going to make up for that.

The uneasy feeling she'd had earlier came back full force, almost enough to make her sick, and definitely enough to take away her appetite. But she had to work through this, if not just for herself but because she'd dragged Kiba into this as well.

"I...wanted to talk with you again... We've never...been close, and I thought, maybe..." She fidgeted a bit, running her fingers along the top edge of the glass. "M-maybe it didn't have to be that way..."

Hanabi watched her sister fidget with her cup. After a while, she murmured. "Perhaps it doesn't."

The older girl was silent for a moment, her stomach slowly unclenching as her muscles relaxed. "Th-thank you..." She glanced up at her sister and smiled softly, then over to Kiba before picking up her sandwich and taking a bite.

Maybe this would work out? ...As long as her sister didn't hate Kiba.

Hanabi nodded in acknowledgement of her sister's thanks. With both Hinata and Kiba eating, Hanabi figured she would finish her own food--simply sitting there watching them eat wasn't appealing to her.

Not that she was particularly hungry. Hanabi kept thinking about how her father would have reacted if she had told him who exactly it was she was meeting today.

She finished quickly, feeling slightly self-conscious. After she'd swallowed the last of her sandwich and taken a long drink, Hinata stood slowly, unsure, glancing at Kiba to see if he was ready to leave before looking back at Hanabi.

"Um... If it's alright...I'd like to stay in contact... I-is there any way we could do that...?" She reached down and opened her purse, digging through it to find a pen and paper. "Y-you have my address, right...? Um, I have a phone number, too, if you'd like..."

She scribbled the number down quickly, handwriting neat and proper, and slipped the paper to her sister. "Thank you again. It was nice seeing you... I hope your birthday was alright..."

Hanabi studied the paper for a moment. She folded it carefully and placed it within her own purse. "We can stay in touch," Hanabi said finally, looking up at her sister and the man she had brought with her. It would likely be up to Hinata to ensure that, but Hanabi was letting the older girl know that at least Hanabi wasn't completely opposed to the idea.

"Good-bye, Hinata. Kiba."

Kiba shoved his chair back and got to his feet as well, a little awkwardly. He was already feeling guilty for messing up whatever chance Hinata might have had at a decent conversation with her sister, and so he offered, a little hesitantly, "I'll get your check, okay? Late birthday present, or something."

Hanabi studied Kiba for a moment, weighing her options. She could refuse, of course, which would probably insult him. Normally she wouldn't have given that a second thought, but Hinata had reacted badly to the first time that had happened. ". . . thank you."

She could be polite to those below her when it suited her.

That Hanabi accepted the offer made Hinata happy. She had already made Kiba uncomfortable enough by bringing him here, and she knew the lengths he went to to be a proper gentleman. If Hanabi refused, she couldn't imagine he would take that well, especially after the younger girl's comment earlier about sports. That she agreed seemed to Hinata to be almost a kind of truce between them.

"Goodbye, Hanabi."

She watched the younger girl leave, not looking away until the door closed behind her, and then she turned her attention to Kiba. "...Thank you for coming. I-I'm sorry about what she said, though. I can cover this for you if you want, to make up for it...?"

"He--heck no," Kiba said indignantly, fishing his wallet out of his back pocket. He drained the last few drops of his lemonade, set the glass down again, and picked up the checks the waiter had left when he'd delivered their food. This place was expensive. But his job at the hospital was pulling in enough to keep him covered, and he could skip lunch tomorrow to make up for it.

"Don't worry about it," he told Hinata, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. "Sorry for picking a fight. Are things gonna be okay?"

She tried to protest him paying the bill (she had money, and he had come at her request), but it wasn't much use. And a part of her had to admit this made things easier--her job didn't pay as much as his, and she really couldn't afford spending so much. That didn't stop her feeling bad about it, though.

His arm around her shoulders helped, though, and she blushed. It was a wonder she ever stopped.

"Th-that's alright... And things...should be fine. She didn't object to the idea of keeping in touch, at least..." She leaned her head back to look up at him, frowning slightly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell her who you were. I-I will, though. I just didn't know what to say today..."

"S'okay, honest," he reassured her. And maybe it was; he hadn't really thought about it, beyond joking to Hinata weeks ago that she could introduce him as her bodyguard if she wanted. What did he care what her family thought of him, at any rate?

...Well, a lot. But he wasn't going to let it bother him now.

"She's a smart girl, anyway," he said. "Shoulda figured it out."

"Maybe..."

She hoped it really was alright. She really had meant to tell Hanabi, just...she was scared and nervous and never knew what to say in that kind of situation. And Kiba didn't seem too angry about it, which was good...

...But what if he thought she was ashamed of him, and she hadn't said anything because of that?

Hinata hugged him tighter, hoping he would understand she would never be ashamed of him, before pulling away and leading him back out into the street. It was still early, and while a little windy it wasn't very cold.

"...Would you like to walk back?" He enjoyed being outside, and she wanted to pay him back for taking care of the bill and being there with her and just spending extra time together was nice. "O-or we can take another bus."

"Walk'd be great," he said cheerfully, steering her towards the register at the front of the little coffee shop. Paying took only a few moments, and then they were outside in the cool spring air again, with the breeze ruffling his shortened hair and sliding its invisible fingers through her longer locks.

...A rather good idea, come to think of it. He lifted the hand around her shoulders a little, just enough that the fine silky strands could slide around his fingers.

God, she was beautiful.

And even if she didn't want to introduce him as her boyfriend to her family now, even if she never did, for now he was okay with that. He was lucky enough just to be with her at all.

The feel of his fingers in her hair startled her at first, but then she leaned into the touch, relaxing. She knew it was odd that her family could put her on edge and someone she hadn't known for all that long could make her feel comfortable, but she found she didn't really care all that much. It didn't matter how long she'd known him, only that she did.

And she was glad she'd asked him to come.

The walk home took a while, but she didn't notice. The fear she'd felt was gone as she walked beside him and let herself enjoy the day.