Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

A/N: Really late. So sorry! D: I've been busy, and having computer issues, and sick...not a good mix. Hopefully updates will be a little more timely now.

"You made it," Kiba said, smiling. Hinata dusted off her pants and straightened her jacket, blushing. "Y-yeah. I'm sorry I was late."

"It's okay," Kiba answered, shrugging. "It must have been hard to get out from under Neji and your dad."

"Yeah," Hinata muttered. It hadn't really ended up being that difficult, actually. Even though it was a Sunday, her father had been working; Hanabi was at a karate tournament, and Neji had disappeared. The housekeeper and the maids had left early, so she had the house to herself. Hinata stifled a sad laugh. Hiashi would never leave Hanabi home alone; sometimes being the less-favored child had its advantages.

"Okay," Kiba said, opening the right door and motioning for Hinata to come in. He was on the left with the keys, which he handed to her when she got in. Hinata gulped. She hadn't realized it as much before, but Kiba's truck was tall. It made her slightly dizzy to be this far off the ground.

"Drive," Kiba ordered, and Hinata looked at him, surprised. Kiba shrugged. "It's how my sister taught me. Drive, and I'll tell you what you're doing wrong. You know enough for that, right?"

Hinata bit her lip. "Um, y-yeah. O-okay." She placed the key in the ignition and turned clockwise, taking in a sharp breath as the car started. Her foot was already on the acceleration pedal; she turned the gearshift back to reverse and pressed the pedal.

The car didn't go anywhere.

"Harder," Kiba advised. Hinata applied more pressure. The car shot out of Kiba's driveway; Hinata immediately let it up and stamped the brakes.

"Not that hard," Kiba said. Hinata turned and looked at him, shaking her head. "T-that's not very g-good advice, Kiba-kun."

Kiba laughed and waved at the road. "Why don't you just drive?"

Hinata giggled and adjusted the gearshift again so she would go forward, keeping a steady if very slow pace up Kiba's street. Kiba nodded. "Okay, good. But—" he leaned over, "You need to keep your hands here—and here."

Blood rushed to Hinata's face as Kiba moved her hands to the correct positions. His long, shaggy hair tickled the bottom of her chin; she didn't even realize that they had come to a stop. Kiba usually smelled like dog, but today it was more like…fruit. Hinata wondered, embarrassed, if he'd shampooed his hair to impress her.

"That's right," he said, straightening up again and breaking Hinata out of her thoughts. "Now, just try to go to the end of the street and turn the cul-de-sac."

Hinata managed the feat, but absentmindedly. Kiba struck up a mostly one-sided conversation as he instructed her on turning.

"Akamaru had to get a few more shots yesterday, after you left. He usually causes a huge ruckus, so I had to pat his head the whole time. It was cute when he was little, but now ne-chan would kill me if he rampaged through her exam room." He paused, watching Hinata concentrate on making the turn to the main street of his subdivision. Her eyebrows were furrowed slightly so that they bent downwards, like Neji's—except on her, it was kind of cute.

"Good job, but remember to hit your indicator," Kiba said. "Can you turn onto the next street? The one with the ice cream parlor on it?"

"S-sure," Hinata said, taking a deep breath and going onwards. Kiba leaned back in his seat.

"Did you get that assignment from Iruka-sensei, the one about genetics? I don't have the notes for that…" He scratched his head ashamedly—"I…kind of lost them. Could I borrow yours?"

"Sure," Hinata said, eyes never leaving the road. "The ones f-from last T-Thursday?"

"Yeah," he said. After a pause, he spoke again. "Hey…do you know what's going on with Kurenai-sensei?"

Hinata blinked. "I s-saw her l-last Saturday…she seemed f-fine." A blush crept up onto her face. That was the day Naruto had called her at the movie theater. "W-why?"

"I overheard her talking to Anko-sensei in the teachers' lounge. She seemed worried about something. And—get this—she was wearing a ring."

Hinata turned her head, surprised. "R-really? Like, a w-wedding r-ring?"

"Engagement, I think," Kiba said. "It was on her right hand…but I'm not sure which is which. Anyway, who d'you think gave it to her? I'm betting on Asuma-sensei, personally…"

Hinata gulped. Would she even be in Konoha to go to Kurenai-sensei's wedding, if she was having one? Or would she be in Suna, at the Academy, studying at the true stature of a Hyuga heir?

"Though it might be Kakashi-sensei…but that would be kind of weird. I wonder if, when Kakashi-sensei gets married, he'll take off his mask. It would be nice to see his face, finally, but what if he's missing half his mouth or something? Although, honestly, that would be kind of cool, having a scar—"

"I-I'm l-l-leaving," Hinata said quietly. Kiba turned, surprised.

"What? I…I'm sorry if I was grossing you out with the whole thing about sensei's mask…why do you have to—?"

"I…I'm not l-leaving r-right n-now," Hinata muttered. "I'm…g-going t-to another s-school. In S-Suna."

Kiba turned around to face her fully. "What?! You…you mean you won't be at Konoha High anymore? And…you won't be living here either? And you won't be working at the clinic, or—or—" He gathered himself and sighed. "Why…why now?"

Hinata shrugged. "Otou-san d-decided that I w-was g-good enough. All the H-Hyuga h-heirs w-went t-there." She managed a forced smile.

Kiba clapped her on the back and Hinata let out a small squeak, surprised. He smiled more widely than usual. "That's great, ne, Nana-chan? Maybe it'll patch things up with your family, too."

Hinata nodded, not meeting Kiba's eyes because she knew she would be able to see his lie there. "Yeah."

"So, why don't you go down to the ice cream parlor? I'll buy you something," Kiba said. "When exactly are you skipping town?"

"You m-make me s-sound like a criminal," Hinata said, giggling. "…I don't know. The n-next semester at S-Suna Academy starts in a few weeks—but I don't think he'll s-send me off that quickly," she finished. They both fell silent as Hinata gritted her teeth, trying to park the oversized truck in the narrow space in front of the ice cream shop. After several tries, she managed to succeed, and she and Kiba got out of the car.

"So, Naruto knows, right?"

Hinata flushed red—leave it to Kiba to make the subject of her school switch even more uncomfortable. She looked down at the gravel and trash that littered the parking lot before answering. "N-no, he d-doesn't," she admitted.

"What about Sakura? And…Ino?"

Hinata bit her lip. Kiba was going three for three. It made her feel guilty; she really did have to talk to Ino. "No."

"Oh," Kiba said, opening the door for Hinata as they walked into the parlor. It made a faint ringing noise. "Then…why did you tell me?"

Hinata offered her companion a false smile as she stood in the line to get ice cream. "Well, I had to start somewhere."

The parlor was relatively empty; the four people ahead of Kiba and Hinata were served quickly. Hinata gulped as she stuttered out her order—she had never been good at this. "O-one v-vanilla ice cream, i-in a c-cup, p-please," she managed to get out. The woman nodded, scooped out the order, and handed it to Hinata. "And you?"

"Triple chocolate fudge in a waffle cone," Kiba said. The woman raised an eyebrow and scooped the three lumps onto the oversized cone. "That'll be 1500 yen."

Kiba attempted to keep his cone balanced as he rummaged into his pants to locate his wallet. Hinata quickly dived for her own, but Kiba came up with the sum in time and barred her from paying. They took a seat at one of the booths, and Hinata picked up her spoon and began to neatly eat her ice cream.

"Don't do that," Kiba said suddenly. Hinata looked up, surprised. Were her table manners bothering him? She did have to admit it could be annoying to watch someone eat that carefully. Kiba did strike her as the type who wouldn't like her uppity manners. She looked at her ice cream, wondering how she would eat it without upsetting her companion. "S-sorry," she said quickly.

Kiba looked at her carefully. "You're not even going to ask for what?"

Hinata sighed in relief and continued eating her ice cream with dainty table manners. So he wasn't that nitpicky. "What?"

"Deflecting a personal question with a joke," he answered. "I asked you why you told me before anyone else, and you didn't give me a proper answer."

Hinata swallowed and dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. "O-oh," she said. "I-I'm sorry." She shrugged. "I…I guess you're the f-first person I-I've been alone w-with since I f-found out."

Kiba mused over that for a moment and then laughed. "See, Nana-chan? That wasn't that hard. No need to get introverted and broody like Uchiha."

Hinata giggled and they continued eating.

"Onesan…onesama," Hanabi called through Hinata's door, with undisguised annoyance. "Otou-san is coming down to see you."

Hinata's stomach flipped as she saved the document she had been working on and shut off her computer. Hiashi, coming down to see her? She doubted that this could be good—maybe he had decided to punish her for the mall incident? She had already confessed to her father, but he might have decided to punish her now…

Or maybe, she thought, chiding herself, he just wants to talk.

Quickly, she ran a brush through her hair and fixed her clothing to make it a little more acceptable. When she heard the polite yet authoritative rap on her door, she started a little and called out quietly, standing up. "C-come in, otou-san."

Hiashi nodded his head at her as she bowed to him deeply. "Hinata…how are you doing?"

"Well, otou-san. H-how are you?" Hinata tried to prevent her nervous stutter. Her father had never approved of that.

"Fine," Hiashi replied. "I would like Hanabi or one of the servants to measure you for your Suna Academy uniform." He paused and looked her in her white, pupil-less eyes. "You are going, right?"

"Of c-course, otou-san," Hinata said softly, dropping her gaze to study her fingernails. "When will I be l-leaving?"

"At the start of the semester," Hiashi said. "I will contact Tsunade-sama so that she can have you withdrawn from Konoha High School and have your papers put in order." He remained quiet for a few seconds, as if conflicted, and then offered Hinata a thin, awkward smile.

"Would you like to have your friends over for a farewell party next weekend?" He raised his eyebrows and widened his smile.

Hinata gasped slightly and blushed. "T-thank y-you, o-otou-san. T-that…it w-would be w-wonderful," she managed to get out.

Hiashi nodded curtly and moved as if to walk out. Hinata began to bow, but he stopped and turned suddenly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Hinata," he said somberly, "This is for your own good."

"I k-know, otou-san," Hinata whispered. Hiashi nodded and left the room.

"So…you're going to leave?" Sakura asked, eyes wide. Hinata nodded, looking down and regretting her decision to announce the move to all of her friends during lunch period. Many curious students had crowded around her table when they overheard, and she was feeling self-conscious.

Naruto placed both of his hands on Hinata's shoulders and grinned sadly. "Aww, Hinata-chan…d'you have to go?"

Ino seemed shaken, more than anything, by the knowledge. She leaned over her gave Hinata a one-armed hug. "I'm going to miss you," she said.

"I-I'm having a p-party…f-farewell, I g-guess," Hinata began, "S-Saturday. C-can you guys come?"

"Sure," Sakura said. "I'll cancel everything."

Hinata looked up, surprised. "You don't—"

"Come on, Nana-chan," Kiba said. Hinata looked up to see him holding his tray of food, smiling awkwardly. "Every one of us would rather be there than anywhere else, anyway."

Hinata blushed. "T-thanks, Kiba-kun."

"And I'm going to force Sasuke to come, too," Naruto said, grinning somewhat evilly.

Sakura stood up and placed her hands on Hinata's shoulders. "You know what? You shouldn't have to deal with this. We—" she gestured wildly around to everyone, "are going to do it for you. You should just enjoy the time you have left, ne?"

"Stop making it sound like she's dying," Ino said. Sakura rolled her eyes.

Hinata managed to smile.