Too Cute

“We ready boy?” Kiba looked down at the enormous ‘puppy’ playfully wagging its tail next to him.

“Arf!” Akamaru cheerfully barked his response.

“Alright!” Kiba smiled at the dog as he ran his long nimble fingers through the unkempt spikes on his head. Kiba didn’t need to look in a mirror to know his hair was a mess; that was just the way he liked it. “Let’s go get her then!” The Inuzuka exclaimed, before adjusting the collar of his new leather jacket and jumping onto the large dog’s back. Together, dog and master, sped through the peaceful, quiet village; both equally excited about being able to stretch their legs a bit, after months of endlessly slow days.

Presently, there were few missions being assigned to the village, so most of the Leaf shinobi had, in a sense, been put on forced vacation. It wasn’t that it really bothered anyone, but after so long with nothing to do, even routine training was beginning to become a bore. That morning, with his chores completed, Kiba had decided to call on his teammates to do some light exercises, and then maybe take half the day to do something fun. He had been about to go over to Shino’s place to invite him over, when he remembered the Aburame was off on some bug collecting expedition with his father. Kiba been a little disappointed upon remembering, but then realized it might actually have been a blessing in disguise. It was then that he decided that it might actually be nicer to take a day off to do nothing but stroll around the forests.

“Haah.” Kiba sighed as he and Akamaru came to a complete stop at the edge of the forest near the large, intimidating building in front of him. “Ready to have some fun?” Kiba asked his best friend, as he looked out into the looming complex where his favorite kunoichi, was held captive.

“Arf!” Akamaru barked; readily agreeing with his master.

“Haha.” Kiba softly chuckled as he gently patted Akamaru’s head while leaping off the large dog’s back.

Smiling at the dog’s enthusiasm, as well as the prospect of a fun day with the kunoichi of his team, Kiba felt like he was practically gliding on air. He was so lost in his happiness, Kiba barely registered the moment when he almost walked right into a certain brunette standing just outside the looming building.

“Hi Kiba, hi Akamaru.” Tenten gleefully greeted the boy and his dog, as Akamaru pulled at the back of his jacket to keep Kiba from running into the girl.

“Oh! Hey Tenten.” Kiba smiled cheerfully. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much.” Tenten happily replied; shrugging her shoulders as she walked with him toward the large double doors of the compound. “Just here to get Neji.” She explained. Not that she needed to; anyone in the village would have immediately assumed, upon finding her outside the Hyuga compound, that Tenten was there for no other reason than to see the white-eyed terror.

“Jeeze.” Kiba laughed slightly; shaking his head incredulously.

After all the years he had known Tenten (running into her often enough when both of them happened to come to the compound to pick up their respective Hyuga teammates at the same time), Kiba had never quite been able to understand why it was that someone as sweet and friendly as the Tenten, could actually get along, much less be friends, with the most cold-hearted bastard in the known world.

“Tch.” He scoffed. “You’re probably the only person in the world who can put up with that guy.” Kiba candidly stated; without any doubt in his mind that he was right.

“He’s not that bad you know.” Tenten innocently smiled; although he was certain even she didn’t completely believe her assertion. Everyone knew, there weren’t very many people who could handle the Hyuga’s temper; and even fewer still who Neji could tolerate.

“Haah.” Kiba shook his head again; scratching the back of his neck as he wondered a loud. “I don’t know what that guy’s waiting for though.”

“Huh?” Tenten turned to look at him questioningly; cocking her head to the side as her right hand rose to knock gently on the solid oak doors of the compound. “What do you mean?”

“Haha.” Kiba chuckled; amused by her innocent naivety.

He had always found it funny how completely unaware of her own beauty Tenten truly was. Of all the girls that Kiba knew, Tenten had to be one of the few whom he considered genuinely beautiful. While she wasn’t an over the top glamour goddess, or a movie siren, there was just something about her that made her incredibly endearing. She, though not the made up Barbie-doll beauty, was the classic girl next door type of beautiful.

There were few who were as comfortable in their skin as she was. Unlike a lot of girls who hid their true persona, only to come out terrifying the men who got close to them when their true colors came to light, Tenten never pretended to be nicer, or sweeter, or calmer than she really was. But of course, it didn’t hurt that Tenten was actually a very sweet girl.

While she could, on occasion, have quite the temper; over all the Tenten Kiba knew, was one of nicest people he had ever met. At the same time, however, she was never afraid of speaking her mind; even, if at times, it meant upsetting others with her brutal honesty. She wasn’t shy about being who she was either; even if it meant being un-girly. In fact, Kiba suspected, it was precisely because she was so un-girly, or rather ‘tomboyish’ as some people liked to refer to her, that Tenten attracted a large number of Konoha’s male population; not that anyone would admit it out loud (at least not soberly), given the company she usually kept.

On several occasions during his frequent outings with the guys (to some of the less savory districts in the village), Kiba had often overheard many guys, civilian and shinobi alike, that had attested to harboring certain romantic feelings for the bun-haired kunoichi. If not for the menacing man consistently standing by her side, Kiba was certain the weapons-mistress could easily be the most sought after girl in the village. It seemed, to a lot of the men in Konoha, there was just someone utterly fascinating about a girl who could be as sweet as honey, yet as deadly as poison.

Actually, though Kiba himself only saw her as friend, even he had to admit there was something rather alluring about her. But it wasn’t just her simple beauty, or her unending kindness, or her talent and skill; what made Tenten truly different from most other girls, and even more allure to a lot of men, was the fact that she was completely, and totally, unaware of just how incredibly attractive she actually was.

“Man, you’re too cute Tenten.” Kiba smirked over at the bun-haired kunoichi.

“Huh?” Tenten stared bewilderedly at the younger man; exactly as he’d expected her to react.

“Hn.” An annoyed-sounding grunt called the pairs attention over to the now opened oak doors.

Turning to face the familiar stoic expression of one Hyuga Neji standing in the doorway, Kiba’s smirk widened as he wondered whether or not ‘Mr. Ice-cube’ had heard what he’s just said to his precious teammate. From the livid gleam in Neji’s eyes, Kiba assumed that in all likelihood, the Hyuga had heard Kiba call the kunoichi cute. Inwardly, Kiba praised himself for that. It wasn’t often one could get any strong emotion out of the cold-hearted Hyuga prodigy; annoying him was simple, but truly pissing him off (as Kiba could clearly see he had done), was a major accomplishment. Though it was true, at present, that the two of them were friends, deep down Kiba couldn’t deny there were still lingering feelings of resentment toward the Hyuga for what he had put Hinata through during their first chunin exams. While Kiba no longer hated Neji for having hurt the shy heiress, he did find it rather pleasurable to irritate the Hyuga whenever he could.

“Oi, Neji!” Kiba greet the enraged shinobi as friendlily as he could, as he moved over toward the bun-haired kunoichi and threw his left arm over her shoulders. “How’s it going?” He smirked at the older man.

“…” Neji’s hate-filled eyes heated with an intensity Kiba had never before witnessed. He was certain, had the kunoichi standing next to him been paying any attention to the two men, instead of petting the enormous white dog wagging his tail at her feet, Tenten probably would have noticed how angry the white-eyed shinobi was. But thanks to Akamaru’s quick thinking (having realized his master’s intentions right from the start and deciding to play decoy), Tenten was completely unaware; making it appear almost as if she was perfectly comfortable with Kiba’s arm wrapped around her.

“Hi Neji.” Tenten innocently smiled over at the fuming Hyuga, while still petting the hyper Akamaru. “Ready to go?”

“Hn.” Neji turned his glaring eyes away from the Inuzuka to calmly face his teammate. “I apologize, but Hiashi-sama has summoned the Clan to a meeting.”

“Oh.” Tenten sighed disappointedly. “Well, I guess it can’t be helped.” She wearily smiled; shrugging her shoulders in the process. “It’s okay.”

“…” Kiba frowned as he looked back and forth, between the two teammates. Just as the disappointment of what Neji’s words implicated in regards to his plans to invite Hinata out for a walk with him and Akamaru began to sink in, an idea for an even more amusing way to spend his boring day came to him. “Oi, Tenten.” Kiba smiled down warmly at the kunoichi still wrapped in his right arm; all the while maintaining the Hyuga in sight out of the corner of his eyes.

“What?” Tenten awkwardly looked up at the fang-faced man; unable to really see him since his arm was partially obstructing her view.

“Since both our plans fell through.” He began; watching the Hyuga for his reaction. “How about you and I go on a date?” Kiba asked. And without waiting for the kunoichi’s response, he immediately began pulling the girl away from the quickly enraging Hyuga left standing at the twin oak doors.

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“Hn…” Kiba curiously eyed the girl seated across the table from her. The two of them had been eating lunch at the local noodle shop across from the Ichiraku Ramen Stand, where the two of them had been eating lunch for the past fourty five minutes.

From around the room, Kiba could sense a number of male eyes steadfastly focused on the weapons mistress. With her signature hair-buns undone, Kiba could easily understand why. It wasn’t the first time he had seen the kunoichi with her hair down, but because it was so rare a sight, even he couldn’t help but being surprised, as well as drawn in, by the simple change in the girl’s appearance.

She was very cute.

“What the hell is that idiot waiting for?” Kiba mumbled to himself.

“huh?” Tenten looked up from her bowl; quickly sipping up a tiny noodle into her mouth. “Did you say something?”

“No, nothing.” Kiba shook his head; amused at how cute she looked, covering her face with her hand as she tried to hide the fact that she still had food in her mouth.

“…” The girl cocked her head to the side curiously, before shrugging and then returning her attention to her bowl of noodles.

“Hey… Tenten.” Kiba began again. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah.” She nodded; putting her chopsticks down as she turned to face him again. “Sure.”

“What exactly do you see in that guy?” Kiba asked.

“…” She stared at him curiously; thinking the question over carefully. “You know…” Tenten began. “Neji really isn’t that bad.”

“…” Kiba suspiciously stared back at the girl; his right eyebrow rose up, doubtful.

“No, I’m serious.” Tenten replied back to his disbelieving smirk. “He may come off a bit…”

“Jerkish?” Kiba offered.

“haha.” Tenten chuckled; lightheartedly shaking her head. “I was going to say ‘distant’, but that works too…”

“Fufu.” Kiba chuckled under his breath. It was good to know, despite whatever feelings the girl might have for the white-eyed prodigy, at least she wasn’t deluding herself about who he really was.

“He’s actually a really sweet guy though.” Tenten sheepishly asserted.

“Sweet?” Kiba inwardly laughed at the image of a Neji being anything remotely close to the word. Tenten was sweet Hinata was sweet. But Neji?... Sweet, was not the word Kiba would ever use to describe the stoic Hyuga.

“I’m not kidding.” Tenten firmly replied. “He may be a bit harsh sometimes.”

“Tch. Sometimes?” Kiba sneered.

“Okay, a lot of the time.” Tenten acknowledged. “But… There are times when he’s really nice. He’s very supportive of all his friends. Kind and considerate of the people he cares for. He’s …”

On and on she went, as Kiba attempted not to laugh out loud at the obviousness of her affections for the stoic prodigy.

It was cute.

Kiba could only hope to wish someday that the girl he liked would like him half as much as Tenten seemed to love Neji.

It was difficult for Kiba to wrap his mind around the fact that someone as nice and… normal… as Tenten could have possibly fallen for someone as annoyingly unemotional as Neji. At the same time, it was kind of sad to think that a girl as great as Tenten was wasted on a guy who would probably never admit his own true feelings; leaving the poor girl to suffer an despairing amount of heartache and loneliness.

“Hey Tenten.” Kiba interrupted the kunoichi as she continued complimenting the undeserving Hyuga.

“Yeah?” She waited for him to continue.

“Lets go for a walk.” He decided; before calling for the check and paying their bill.

After leaving the restaurant, together, Kiba and Tenten walked calmly through the village outskirts. As they rounded the corner toward the open training fields closest to the village, Kiba felt a sudden, though not all too surprising, heated shiver run down his spine. He had been waiting for that moment since he and Tenten had begun their walk. Abruptly stopping, Kiba stepped in front of Tenten and placed both hands on each of the kunoichi’s shoulders. Spinning the weapons mistress until he found the exact position he wanted her in, Kiba playfully smiled at the girl; trying to keep her from realizing what he was up to.

“What are you doing Kiba?” Tenten curiously asked the younger man.

“Ahh…” Kiba stalled as he quickly scanned behind the kunoichi to locate a certain shadow he knew was there (as he could easily smell the very distinct scent of one very pissed off prodigy). “Nothing really.” He turned down to look at her; releasing his grip of her shoulders. “Stand still for a second will you?” Kiba requested, as he extended his right hand out to tilt the kunoichi’s head to the left a little.

“huh?” Tenten bewilderedly eyed the man. “Wh-”

“Eyelash.” Kiba quickly replied; coming up with the first excuse he could think of.

“Okay.” Tenten obliged; keeping her head in the position Kiba had set it.

Quickly glancing over the top of the kunoichi’s head, an incredible idea formed in the Inuzuka’s head. As he approached the kunoichi, with one hand cupping her chin, as the other extended a finger out to reach for the fake eyelash on her face, Kiba brought his face as close to the kunoichi as possible.

If she were any other girl, Kiba was certain being that close to her face would have made Tenten blush profusely. But knowing the weapons mistress as he did, Kiba was certain that the idea of him even remotely doing anything other than what he had claimed he was going to do, never even entered into the kunoichi’s mind. A tiny voice in Kiba’s head urged him to lean just a little further and find out what her soft lips might taste like, but of course, his instant to survive told him it was a terrible idea. Though he was intentionally making it look like he was kissing her (and he was certain from the angle the Hyuga was currently observing the pair, that was exactly what it would appear to be), contrary to popular belief, Kiba wasn’t stupid. And he certainly wasn’t foolish enough to actually go through with kissing the temperamental prodigy’s sparring partner.

“KIBA!” An angry growl, followed shortly by tug at his brand new leather jacket, had the Inuzuka facing the firey glare he had been expecting.

“Neji.” Kiba smugly addressed the older shinobi currently grip him by the collar.

“Neji, what are you doing?” Tenten immediately stepped forward; nervously shifting her worried gaze between the two men. Kiba was certain, with how innocently unassuming the girl was, the thought that Neji could possibly be jealous of what the two had been doing (or at least what Kiba had led the prodigy to believe), never even entered her mind.

“Hn.” Neji gravely turned over to look at the kunoichi; politely, but sternly indicating to the girl that this was between Kiba and him.

“Fine.” Tenten shrugged. “I don’t get it, but whatever.” She sighed; turning towards the training fields. “Just don’t kill each other.” She shouted before taking off in the direction of her team’s training grounds.

“Oi, Tenten!” Kiba called out to the kunoichi before she could leave.

“Yeah?” She turned expectantly.

Figuring he had nothing left to lose, Kiba decided to go for the kill. “I had a great time on our date.” He emphasized the last word; smiling as best he could from his position hanging off the Hyuga’s fist. “We should do it again some time.”

“Hahaha.” Tenten chuckled; shaking her head incredulously at the blatant overconfidence of the Inuzuka. “Well if you survive… we’ll see.” She smirked; waving goodbye before she ran off towards the clearing where her team trained.

“I wouldn’t count on it.” Neji furiously growled, after the kunoichi was out of earshot.

“Tch.” Kiba brazenly brushed the older shinobi’s hands off of him; attempting as best as he could to remain calm and confident (one of which was not always the easiest thing for the Inuzuka to do). “You’re an idiot if you think she’ll wait around forever.” He grumbled.

“What are you-” Neji angrily began.

“Make your move Hyuga.” Kiba nonchalantly brushed his hands across his jacket, as if he were dusting himself off of some invisible dirt. “She’s too cute to be single for much longer.”

And with those parting words, Kiba left the infuriated prodigy to think over his advice; inwardly relieved that he had somehow managed to escape a fight with the white-eyed shinobi. Though he was nowhere near as scared of the older shinobi as he had once been, Kiba was certain he’d eventually end up paying for everything he had done that day, but at the moment, he was going to enjoy the small victory of seeing the prodigy dumbstruck and unable to respond. Getting to piss Neji off, and possibly helping out the bun-haired kunoichi, made it all worthwhile…

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THE END
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