Stellar

11. Shy

"That god damn cat!" Kiba cursed. "Sorry guys, but since it's raining Tora's scent is pretty much gone." He scrunched up his nose in frustration. "The rain washed it all away, it'll be impossible in this weather."

Shino adjusted his glasses, calling many of his bugs back to him. "It is undesirable for my colony to fly in this weather." He sighed.

Kurenai nodded. "It's okay, but we should probably duck under a roof or something. Tora probably headed back into the market place for shelter from the rain. When it lets up, we can continue our search."

As they rushed through the heavy rain, Kiba perked up. "Hinata!"

Surprised at his sudden outburst, the Hyuga yelped. "Y-Yes?"

"Can't you use your byakugan to find Tora?" Kiba cocked his head to the side. Hinata mumbled something incoherent as they entered the Ichiraku ramen stand.

"W-we-well, yes, b-but there's a-a lot of chakra s-signatures in the a-area. I-I don't kn-know if I'll be a-able to f-find T-T-Tora in the c-crowds." Hinata stammered. Kiba waited patiently for her to finish before he nodded thoughtfully. As he opened his mouth to reply, Hinata froze, her face bursting red.

"Oh! Hey Kiba, dattebayo." Naruto grinned. Sitting on one of the stools, in all of his ramen glory, surrounded by three empty bowls, sat Naruto Uzumaki. He raised his hand in greeting and beamed brightly, causing Hinata's face to redden further.

Kiba shot his teammate a curious glance before taking a seat next to Naruto. "Hey, Naruto." He smiled. Since they had graduated, it was a rare occasion for him to see his old friend. "Don't you have missions to do today?"

Naruto shrugged. "Meh. They're all really boring, and Kakashi-sensei let us go early."

Kurenai poked her head in. "Kiba, we'll split up since this stall is a bit cramped. Shino and I will move on ahead."

"Hai, sensei." Kiba nodded. He looked back at the blushing Hyuga and patted the empty seat beside him. "C'mon Hinata, sit down! I'll pay, don't worry."

Tentatively, she slid into the stool beside him. "I-I-I've never had ramen b-before..I-I don't know wh-what to get." She admitted, looking down at her twisting fingers.

"WHAT?" Naruto exclaimed. "Ramen is the best thing in the world! It's all that gives life meaning! Take it from me, the best one is the miso ramen, but I don't discriminate, dattebayo! The tonkotsu's really good too! That's Sakura-chan's favorite."

Hinata seemed to sadden at the mention of Sakura but nodded quickly. "I-I'll h-have the m-m-miso."

Kiba scratched Akamaru's chin affectionately before deciding. "I'll get the tempura ramen." He shrugged. "That's Sasuke's favorite."

Naruto beamed, causing Hinata to nearly faint once more. Kiba yelped and instinctively reached over to catch her.

::

Kiba and Hinata were paired off to work through a genjutsu maze together and were quickly losing hope.

"Damn it!" Kiba growled. "I swear we passed this spot before!"

Hinata grew just as frustrated but was quick to place all the blame on herself. "I-I'm sorry!" She exclaimed. "I-I should have done better, an-and I failed! It's a-all my fault."

Kiba shot her a confused look. "What? No, it's not all your fault. It's just as much as mine since I can't pick up on the right scent, or work out where we're going."

Hinata raised her hands to her head, screwing her eyes shut. "B-But I should have been able to do this! W-W-Why can't I do anything right!" Tears were forming at the corner of her pale eyes, and she speedily tried to wipe them away without Kiba noticing.