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Team 8's Bonds: The Brightest Firework

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He tipped his head back, relishing the elation that sprinkled onto his head and curled into his toes. This must be what Heaven smelled like...the tantalizing scents practically assaulted his sensitive nose−everything from grilled yakitori, fried yakisoba, and the sweet aroma of cotton candy wafted through the warm summer air. He slowly blinked his eyes open, the lanterns strung above them a hazy glow against the clear dark sky.

"Kiba-kun? Are you okay?"

He turned towards the voice lazily, confidently thrusting his thumb up. "Never been better! Sorry Hinata, didn't mean to worry you."

"Ah," she hummed, lips forming into an amused smile, "I'm glad that you're in such a good mood Kiba-kun."

Shino nodded in agreement. "As am I, come, let us enjoy this festival as−"

"It smells so good, I am so pumped to eat everything!" Kiba exclaimed. Grabbing a hold of Hinata's wrist, he dashed to the nearest food stand, a takoyaki stall, with Akamaru close at their heels.

Shino folded his arms, his hands finding shelter in the baggy sleeves of the opposite arm. "I'm alone...again," he sighed, trailing after his teammates.

Kiba wasn't kidding−Team 8 flitted through nearly all the food stalls available− and Kiba stuffed his belly to a size that rivaled even Chouji's. They had just wrapped up the last stall, where he lingered to inhale the savory smoke of chicken grilling, when he noticed that their team was one member short.

"Oi, where did Hinata go?"

He didn't know what he triggered, but Shino's eyebrow ticked dangerously. "Oh...so you notice when she's gone?"

"Huh? Why are you sulking?" Kiba clasped his hands together behind his head.

"Perhaps because of the fact that you ran off without me at the chocolate banana stand, which may I remind you was only the second stand we visited, and then didn't notice I was missing for the subsequent−"

"Ergh..." Guilt prickled into Kiba's chest. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Maybe you could like, make some noise every now and then? You know, like some indication that you're there."

"We've been comrades and teammates for so long that I can now tell when you have awoken from sleep," Shino deadpanned.

"Wow really? 'Cause that's just a tiny bit creepy, I mean, I guess Akamaru can too but he's my partner so− oh hey, Hinata!" Breaking into a trot, Kiba caught up to where Hinata was leaning over a ring toss stand.

"Ah hello, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun," she greeted kindly, though her focus was elsewhere.

"You're playing a ring toss game?" Kiba asked curiously, gazing down at the empty sake bottles that were arranged in parallel rows.

Nodding in response, she returned to calculating the precise force and accuracy for the three red rings in her hand. She pulled one ring in between her thumb and index finger and poised it like a Frisbee.

"Oh I understand now!" Kiba snapped his fingers as the revelation struck him. "You're trying to win that thing," he pointed at a small frog plushie, "and then give it as a gift to Naruto!"

A blush bloomed to her cheeks and her stance faltered.

"N-No! That's not it!" Needless to say, the first ring flew vertically in the air and then slipped in between two bottles. It landed on the ground with a quiet thud.

Kiba rubbed his head sheepishly. "Ah...that was close?"

Hinata quickly regained her composure and narrowed her eyes; taking a deep breath, she threw the second ring. It swung around the top of the neck before flipping off and plummeting to the floor. Disappointment filled her exhalation.

"Oh come on, that was so close ya gotta give it to her! We got a girl in love here!"

"Kiba-kun!" She blushed again, burrowing the lower half of her face in her hands.

"Hinata, I believe in your abilities," Shino spoke up from behind them and gave her a curt nod.

She peered over to him, feeling the confidence emanating from behind his glasses. Slowly straightening up, she rolled her shoulders back and positioned herself again. "I can do it," she reaffirmed.

"Yeah, do your best Hinata!" Kiba pumped his fist into the air. "Do it for−mmph!"

"I do not believe you should break her concentration," Shino calmly said, gingerly pulling his hand back and grimacing at where Kiba had bit him, the sticky saliva slick on his palm.

With a delicate flick of her wrist, the ring sailed gracefully through the air and swiveled around the bottle's neck, settling down against the glass with a decisive clink.

"Nice job!" Kiba wrapped his arm over her shoulder as the Hyūga beamed brightly. "You did it!"

"Congratulations miss." The game attendant grinned. "You can select any of these prizes," he said, gesturing towards the wall of stuffed animals behind him.

"Oh oh, get that giant dog! Or maybe the giant bunny, you like those right?"

"U-Um, Kiba-kun..."

"'No wait the giant dog is definitely better, it even resembles Akamaru a bit!" He leaned down to pat his partner affectionately on the head.

Hinata didn't say anything, reverting back to her habit of twiddling her fingers together. "Kiba-kun...um well, if you want, I could get the dog for you," she offered politely.

"Wow, really?" His eyebrows rose.

Shino strolled up from behind and wedged himself between them. "Kiba, she's taking your feelings into consideration. Clearly she has something else in mind, because−"

"Oh!" Chuckling awkwardly, Kiba waved his hands dismissively. "No don't listen to me, get whatever you want! It's fine, I promise. "

She tilted her head to the side. "Are you sure?"

"Yup, I am."

So with a light-red hue on her cheeks, Hinata pointed towards the small frog, ignoring the "I knew it!" that spilled from Kiba's lips.

"Are you sure Miss? That's the consolation prize we give to the children so they don't get upset," the attendant explained.

"What?" She deflated.

"It's fine, it's the only frog," Shino instantly interjected, "Naruto will like it." Before she could protest, he took it out of the attendant's fingers and gently placed it into Hinata's palm.

"Come on guys," Kiba's boisterous voice called as he waved his hand towards the rest of the festival. "We still got some time before all the rookies meet up to watch the fireworks, so let's check everything else out!"

The booth games, mask stands, and festival music were fun, but in Kiba's opinion everything paled in comparison to the food. Nonetheless, he still had a great time: the highlight occurring when they were scooping goldfish from an inflatable pool and Shino's bugs began creeping out of his pores. As the bugs dipped into the water and encased the surface in buzzing black specks, the resulting blood-curdling screams could probably be heard in the neighboring village. Much to Shino's chagrin, Kiba doubled over in laughter as the grumpy old man tending to the booth banned Shino from stepping foot into any goldfish-scooping hut. Ever.

It was when they were leaving the takoyaki stand, which they were frequenting for the second time that night, that Kiba noticed Hinata lagging behind.

"Oi Hinata, what's the hold up?" He called from a distance away. When it appeared she didn't hear him, he jogged up to her. Akamaru followed suit, looking up at her and wagging his tail.

"Kiba-kun, hi," she acknowledged softly.

He blinked at the melancholic look that dusted her eyes. "Hey, is something wrong?"

Greeted with silence, Kiba shifted his gaze to follow her line of vision. Sai, Naruto, and Sakura−who was clutching a giant stuffed frog, stood off to the side of the streets, their faces just visible under the lantern's orange light.

"Naruto, this really isn't necessary. I mean it's cute and I appreciate the thought, but you should have gotten something for yourself instead..."

"Nah it's fine, I want you to have it. What would I do with a stuffed animal anyways?"

"I don't know, have it sit in the corner of your room? Besides you already paid for a lot of my things today."

Sai pouted. "Hey, how come I didn't receive this special treatment?"

"Oh, it's always been this weird, unspoken agreement that I empty my wallet for you every summer festival so I just thought this year was the same... And Sai, you're a guy! Pay for yourself."

"Why's that matter? You're dickless but still paying."

"That was when we were kids Naruto! I wanted some compensation from going on a 'date' with you. It's not like that anymore."

"Oh...well," Naruto paused, reeling back words in his head, "Okay."

Thick dismay lathered Naruto's three simple words. Even Kiba realize that having Hinata hear him was like leading a moth to an open flame. Kiba tugged on Hinata's forearm and pulled her away. He opened his mouth to speak, but on this rare occasion of thinking his actions through, he closed it abruptly. Surprisingly, Hinata initiated conversation.

"Um...you know, I don't feel so well, a-and um...don't think it was just because of...this," she motioned her hand behind her, "Because honestly, I wasn't feeling well all evening. I think I'm going to head home. But don't worry about me, okay? I'll be fine tomorrow. Kiba-kun, please tell Shino-kun my goodbyes and enjoy the fireworks," Hinata spoke quickly and with the usual grace she carried, but the controlled tremor didn't go unnoticed.

"No Hinata wait, don't go." He shook his head firmly and grasped for her wrist.

But she had already made her decision; she turned around and shot him a tight smile, gently wriggling out of his hold. "Please...have fun. I don't wish to be a burden on your night." Without leaving any room for rebuts and retorts, Hinata ducked into a crowd and disappeared from Kiba's sight.

"Damn it, Hinata! Come back!" He bolted after her, unaware of the three heads that turned back to look at him.

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The Hyūga compound was more convoluted than he remembered, and it didn't help that the flower gardens and general scent of lavender somewhat masked his sense of smell.

"Hinata," he called out quietly, wary of keeping his voice down to not alert the other Hyūga of his presence. Akamaru yipped more softly as well, the sound of his light footfalls behind Kiba. Last thing he needed was to be "kindly escorted" out of there after sprinting all the way to her home.

When he reached more familiar territory, his mind pieced together vague directions to her room and his nose took care of the rest. "Ah ha, there you are," he muttered, peeking down from his perch on the roof to see Hinata sitting on the veranda with her legs folded beneath her, still dressed in her light purple yukata. The loud clack of his sandals connecting with her hardwood floor jolted her attention to him, and a strange, unpleasant feeling clenched in his chest when he saw her pale eyes glimmering.

"K-Kiba-kun! What are you doing here?" She straightened up and hastily wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Pointing a finger at him, she spoke again, "You...You're going to miss the fireworks and you know you love them, so...go," she urged.

Mirroring her, he pointed an accusatory finger at her too. "I know you love them too, so I'm not going if you don't! That way we're even!"

She opened her mouth in a retort, but hesitated, choosing instead to look down at her lap and sighed. "Then...I'm sorry for making you worry. I'm really just overreacting."

"No big deal," he waved her off reassuringly. "I'm happy to be here, it's a miracle I managed to sneak past everyone's Byakugan..."

They sat in silence together, and while the peace was comfortable, Kiba was never one to sit still for too long.

"Do you...remember that time when Akamaru got really sick, you know, when he was throwing up everywhere? He had an intestinal parasite and I was so worried about him." He patted his companion's head as the canine shifted towards him.

"I was a mess− crying all over the place. I was losing my best friend, I promised to protect Akamaru and was miserable when I realized…that I couldn't. You and Shino tried to comfort me everyday. Looking back on it...it's kinda embarrassing, but I would probably do the same if it happened again." The ninja dog whined, nuzzling Kiba's hand with his warm muzzle. "Luckily they managed to whip up some special medication to treat him. But the point is, when I was feeling down in the dumps, you and Shino were with me every step of the way."

"Yes, I remember," Hinata replied, a small smile on her face.

"And do you remember that time Shino got upset about his Taijutsu skills? That guy...he has so much pride. He tried shutting us out at first but in the end we helped him get back to his feet, neh?" Kiba suddenly shuddered. "That's also the first time I realized to never go into the hot springs with him, it was like tonight's disaster at the goldfish game except about...ten times worse."

He managed to get a giggle to escape out of Hinata's lips, and he smiled in turn.

"Anyways, I'm not really good with words. What I'm tryin' to get at is that…Team 8 is well, a team. Yeah that means we're comrades and battle partners but we're also best friends that support each other. So if you feel like you want to share how you're feeling…we're all ears." Akamaru yipped his assent, his tail thumping against the floor.

"It's about time you two noticed me..." A figure stated, climbing out of the shadows. Kiba nearly jumped out of his skin and pointed an affronted finger at the newcomer.

"Hey! What did we discuss earlier about showing indications that you're here!"

"I do not think you are in the position to nitpick after you left me alone and went to comfort Hinata by yourself," Shino bluntly informed, though the overflowing agitation in his words was as apparent as a blazing fire in a forest.

"Shino-kun...you're going to miss the fireworks too." Hinata frowned.

He shrugged, hands remaining in his pockets. "That is of no importance, there are more pressing matters over here."

After Shino's abrupt entrance, Team 8 lapsed into another spell of peace. Shino may have been an expert in patience, but Kiba was having difficultly making sure his mouth was locked tightly shut until Hinata chose to open up first. As he counted the vertical lines engrained on the planks of wood, she murmured something under her breath, so lowly that even Akamaru had difficultly picking it up.

"What? Hinata, could you repeat that again?"

She sighed, but obeyed. "I said...I should have gotten you the stuffed dog."

"Huh?" His face contorted in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"I-It means...well. At least I still could have done something nice for someone," she admitted.

"Is this about what Naruto said? Listen, Hinata, we just came in at a bad time, if you give that doll to him I'm certain he'll love it."

Hinata shook her head somberly. "It's not just that, there's something else that has been on my mind for a while now."

Her teammates scooted forward, though stopped to give her some space when they saw her face heat up to a bright shade of vermillion.

"You two know that I like, no...I l-love, um..."

"Hold affection for Naruto," Shino finished.

"Y-Yes, that. It has been over a year and a half since I confessed to him and we still haven't bridged the topic yet. Lately, I've been thinking about how much time...how many winters have passed since I started pining for him," she paused, and took a deep breath.

"The answer is so many that I have lost count, and it seems like it will always be this way. My one-sided, unrequited affections, is something I need to accept." Her eyelids lowered and she situated herself in a way that showed only her side profile. "In the end it seems, I am not a person he is attracted to, and honestly, who can blame him when half the time I can't be normal and hold a decent conversation?"

"'Hinata no!" Kiba slammed his fist down to the floor, startling everyone in the room. His fangs shone especially white under the moonlight. "You've come so far from who you used to be! I will not let you talk yourself down like that."

A genuine smile spread across her lips. "Thank you, Kiba-kun. But ah, I'm not talking myself down. I'm just thinking that when Naruto finds love, I should expect that it…will not be with me. It may be Sakura-san, or not, maybe someone else with a similar disposition. At first, when I thought about it I couldn't help but feel a crippling weight in my heart. I wanted to erase the scenes of him with another person that I imagined in my head but I just...couldn't. Just couldn't," she repeated delicately, like the words would fall away into wisps of dust. She scrunched up her yukata in between her fingers. "Then I thought about Naruto some more, about how he's inspired me, changed me so much without even knowing it, and it suddenly became clear to me: I'm already blessed enough to be able to walk beside him as a friend, and that's more than enough for me."

Hinata looked up, directly meeting both Shino and Kiba's terse faces. "All I wish, is for him to be happy."

The corner of her eyes began to pool with moisture, threatening to spill over her rosy cheeks. Kiba's own heart broke looking at the pain reflected in Hinata's eyes, quivering under the moonlight. The bounds of Hinata's selflessness should have been inhumanly possible.

"I'm pathetic aren't I?" She whispered as one tear slipped down her face. A stream of others soon followed it. Slowly at first, but it didn't take long for the tears to rain down in continuous rivulets. "I've already got all this figured out, but here I am, still crying over the happy ending I settled on."

Her breath hitched and she maneuvered her legs so that she could hug her knees to her body and bury her head. Sobs wracked her petite form, and though she tried hard to quell them, they emerged as hiccups instead.

"Dammit!" Kiba seethed, his fingernails clawing against the floor as he fell on all fours. "That Naruto...I am so gonna kick his ass for being such an idiot."

"Kiba-kun, please don't..." Hinata said softly, the plea in her tone barely enough to calm the rage bubbling inside him. "As two of my closest friends, I trust the both of you not to let what I've confessed affect how you normally are..."

"How can I not let it affect me when I see how upset he made you?!" He growled.

It was Shino's turn to placate him; the bug-user placed a firm hand on Kiba's shoulder and shoved him back on his rump. "Kiba, calm down. I am certain that Naruto would be equally, if not even more upset, if he knew of his own impact. Which is exactly what Hinata wishes to hide." Despite his careful reasoning and collected demeanor, his insects crawled out of him as their host's body temperature drastically rose.

"Shino-kun..."

"Wait so− is that it? Are you giving up on him now?"

She hesitated, hunching into herself a little more. "I...I don't think I can. I've loved him for so long that my feelings cannot disappear so quickly. I'm not giving up my love, no. But at the same time I'm preparing myself for the worst. What's the point of falling so hard if he's not ready, or willing, to catch me?"

Her hands moved to her robe, and she pulled out the frog plushie, cupping it in her hands. "In truth, it is going to be very hard for me to feel this way about anyone else, there's only so many people that can flip your world upside down. However, I shouldn't, no I can't accept simply being a consolation prize because he couldn't get his first pick. I have to be strong." She squeezed its cotton-stuffed body. The green fabric bulged between her fingers.

For once, Kiba was the one at a loss of words. He exchanged a glance with Shino, who had his own face tightly controlled.

"In that case, know that we will always support you, in whichever path you choose to take."

"Eh?" Hinata looked at Shino, drying her eyes with the sleeve of her yukata.

Shino removed his hands from their customary positions in his pockets and placed one over her pale hand, and the other over Kiba's. "If you choose to pursue Naruto, we will help you. If you choose to move on to other waters, we will also help you. If your priority is Naruto's happiness, then our priority is your happiness."

Her eyes widened.

"Out of respect for you, I shall remain impartial. However, I personally find no bigger fool than Naruto for missing what is in front of him," Shino continued, giving Hinata's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Shino-kun...Kiba-kun, thank you." The smile didn't quite return to her features but she returned the strength of his grip.

"Hey, Hinata," Kiba carefully moved so that his hand was still linked to Shino's and squatted in front of her. "Is it okay if I...see that frog?"

"Sure." She held it open to him: a green frog with round, goofy eyes.

"Is it okay if...you give it to me anyways? To me, it's worth a lot more than a consolation prize."

She didn't reply immediately, roving her eyes over the doll in her hands. After giving it a hard stare, she lifted the frog and placed it into Kiba's palm, closing his warm fingers over its body. "Yes, you may."

"Thank you, I'll treasure it always, I promise," he declared resolutely.

Hinata's pale eyes crinkled happily. "I'm glad that you're in such a good mood, Kiba-kun."

The fireworks exploded into vibrant life in front of them. The bright reds, oranges and blues sparkled in the night sky before being followed by loud cracks and booms. As the dazzling colors faded into the backdrop, more bursts of light followed suit. Yes, they were beautiful and mesmerizing as usual, but paled in comparison to the company of each other. Contrary to Hinata's warnings, no one in Team 8 missed anything this year.

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Author's Note: You can ignore this part if you want. I was pretty hesitant to upload this, mostly because I've become somewhat shy of my writing. But, I wanted to explore the idea of Hinata becoming her own person and having Naruto realize his affections are not because Hinata reflects his ideals/Sakura doesn't love him/Hinata "deserves" to be rewarded−no, rather, something else much more basic and honest. Plus, that whole "ignoring her confession for 2 years because he was oblivious" before The Last isn't convincingly realistic to me. (I still haven't watched the movie since I bought movie tickets for it). To try to view the whole picture, I looked at NaruSaku wikis and well, frankly the ship was possible. It just never appealed to me because I have friendships in real life similar to NaruSaku: And when I say I have no romantic attraction to them it's plainly the truth. But I think the possibility of NaruSaku adds an interesting dimension to NaruHina because it opens the door to potential insecurities to resolve and growth to discover.

Reviews are appreciated of course, I always like to see if my stories actually interest people, but you don't have to if you don't want to.