A/N: A little NaruHina fic I wrote after 312. Enjoy!

"Sai, this is Hinata, Shino, and Kiba. They're Team 8," Sakura said, gesturing to her fellow Chuunin.

Sai put on his trademark grin. "You may call me Sai. No suffix is necessary."

Kiba cocked an eyebrow, mouthing 'what a weirdo' to Naruto when Sai wasn't looking. Shino pushed up his glasses and said nothing, only nodding his head in greeting. Hinata blushed and muttered "Hello," seemingly embarassed by something. Naruto scratched his head and shrugged.

Hinata resisted the urge to press her fingers together. It had been a hard habit to break, but she'd done it.

The reverse of how she looks, Sai thought. "Nice to meet you, Ms..."

Sakura felt herself choke in anticipation. Surely...he wouldn't...

"...Plain."

Sakura almost fell over. She might have if Ino, who was standing next to her, hadn't grabbed her arm in a death grip. Chouji had momentarily stopped munching on his chips, and even Shikamaru looked mildly interested. Shino's eyebrows could be seen over the tops of his glasses, but he didn't move. Kiba, however, looked none-too-pleased. He looked like he was about to intercede, but Naruto got there first.

Naruto put his hand against Sai's throat, pushing him into the wall behind him.

"N-N-Naruto-kun," Hinata protested weakly, "It really isn't--"

"Of course it is, Hinata," Naruto insisted, eyes still trained on Sai. "You should apologize," Naruto said between his teeth.

"For what?"

"For lying. Hinata's not plain!"

Naruto seemed to not notice the implication, but Hinata was blushing furiously, tugging at her hair. This hadn't gotten past Sakura, though. She approached Naruto from behind and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let it go, Naruto, he didn't mean it."

Naruto looked rebellious, but he released Sai, anyway. He didn't want to incur Sakura-chan's wrath.

"I knew you didn't have a penis," Sai said, a cheery smile on his face. Sakura's face fell. "Why, you--!" Naruto began, the beginning a two-hour chase all over Konoha.

Hinata was too distracted by what had just occurred to notice what was going on. She apologized to her friends, saying that she had to get going, and that she would make it up to them tomorrow. Shino studied her for a moment before nodding. Kiba shrugged, and Hinata hurried off towards the Hyuuga shrine.

She couldn't help smiling to herself, even during her father's usual tirade. She was sure that, if her heart could talk, it would be singing.