Firefly (A KibaHina Manifesto) [Naruto]

[farihstar.livejournal.com]

Fandom: Naruto (copyright of Masashi Kishimoto)
Couple: KibaxHina, Hinata and Kiba, Kiba and Hinata, Puppy Love, etc.
Spoilers: Current (chapter 391)
Title: Firefly
Notes:  My thoughts on how evidence points to Kiba Inuzuka caring more for Hinata Hyuuga than one would think at first glance.

I don’t own Kiba, Hinata, Naruto or any other character/Naruto-related thing in this essay. That all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Firefly come lead me on, follow you into the sun

Introduction (How I ended up here):

You can skip this part if you’d like.

Well, I’m completely honest when I say that I’ve never done anything like this before. I hardly ever really use LJ; in fact, I created this account just to upload this manifesto (to separate my actual blogging life from my shipping life, though I suppose it didn’t matter, did it, since I just said that I never use livejournal anyway?).

I love reading manifestos, as I’m guessing many shippers do since they normally affirm the reader that said reader is not completely delusional and that, yes, the couple they ship may actually have a chance at canon (unless you’re reading a crack ship’s manifesto…whatever). But I never actually thought I’d write one.

I just recently got into this couple, as in a couple of months ago. I don’t crazily ship it, though it is one of my favorite couplings for the series.

I like KibaHina…It’s not my Naruto OTP, but I certainly find that it is downplayed as a possible coupling. So, my point in writing this is to show that the couple does actually have a shot at canon.

I was thinking that KibaHina needed a manifesto…I mean, if NaruKiba can have one, than surely I can muster up something? However, my biggest fear was that there was not enough to make a persuasive argument for the two (because they really are hardly in the series), but then I was reassured by the amazing fans at the KibaxHinata Fan Club that canon proof is not all that is needed to make a decent essay. Any two characters can have screen time, but it’s how to interpret that screen time in order to show how these characters can benefit from being in a relationship that counts. *I think*

I thought I wouldn’t be writing this for a while, as I just made the decision this morning that I would write a manifesto. However, I can’t get all my KibaHina thoughts settled down, so I decided that maybe I should just sit down and write. So here we go.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, there really isn’t enough canon KibaHina to make an incredibly long essay. Kiba and Hinata, at best, cannot even be considered secondary characters in the Naruto series. Therefore, this may be short.

Series/Character Introduction:

The series Naruto revolves around ninjas (shinobi and kunoichi [female nin]) who come from a fictional village called Konoha, more specifically, it revolves around a certain ninja and to some extent his teammates. This ninja: Naruto Uzumaki. It’s a shounen manga. Romance is really not its forte, especially with Kiba and Hinata, who aren’t exactly the stars of the series.

Kiba Inuzuka. Kiba is a nin who graduates the academy the same year Naruto does. He is probably most recognizable for his amazingly strong bond with his dog, Akamaru. In the Inuzuka clan, apparently, every member has a canine companion. He must be considered a powerful shinobi, since nobody thought that Naruto would beat him during the Chuunin exam fight. He’s also considered very loud, “louder than me” according to Naruto (which really is saying something). The first time we get to really meet Kiba is in chapter 39, where Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura have just entered the Chuunin exams.

There has never been a canon admittance to a Kiba crush of some sort, though that doesn’t mean he can’t be interested in someone.

Hinata Hyuuga. Another academy graduate, she is the eldest daughter of one of Konoha’s greatest and most noble families, the Hyuuga Clan. Because she is the eldest, she should technically be the heiress. However, despite her rank, she does not consider herself to be anything special, and neither does her family. Her father, Hiashi Hyuuga, does not consider her to be very strong at all and does not believe that she will really accomplish much. Her father decided that it would be better to train Hinata’s younger sister, Hanabi, for he thinks Hanabi has more potential. Therefore, she has a self-conscious complex, which defines much of her character throughout the series. (Though, throughout the series, her father has come to respect her more).

Hinata is introduced alongside Kiba and the rest of team 8 during the Chuunin exams.

She has a glaringly obvious crush (perhaps stronger) on the hero of the series, Naruto Uzumaki. Though, Naruto doesn’t seem to notice this.

The Couple:

Like I said, there are very few moments of Kiba and Hinata in the manga (in fact, the entirety of team 8 is a very rare occurrence…we have yet to even see Team 8 fight!). So I’m going to try my best with the moments that are there.

So, Kiba and Hinata are introduced in the same chapter (same page, if you wanna get really specific). Kiba approaches Naruto and seems overly confident that he will take down Naruto should they fight.

So, Kiba seems like a pretty pompous guy. Even Sasuke notes that Kiba is acting confident. Heck, if Naruto himself admits that Kiba is “louder than me”, than the guy must be loud, and like Naruto, I’m assuming that loud also means arrogant (after all, Naruto is no modest mouse himself, but that’s a topic for another day).

But then, Hinata steps into the conversation. She says “Sorry, Naruto…Kiba-kun didn’t mean it in that way…”

As was explained above, Kiba is a confident guy. You’d expect him to get mad that his own teammate would try to water down his confident jabs. Instead, you get a semi-annoyed look from Kiba in Hinata’s direction. But no loud outburst like “Yes, I did mean it that way! Hinata, are you crazy?!!” That’s the reaction you’d expect from such a confident guy.

In fact, Kiba never really speaks down to Hinata. Ever. Despite how strong he thinks he is, and how “weak” Hinata is, he never makes her feel less confident. It almost parallels how, like in the case of Naruto, Naruto never made his teammate Sakura feel bad, even though Sasuke himself told Sakura that her abilities were worse than Naruto’s. Naruto never puts Sakura down like that (and we all know how Naruto feels about Sakura).

We get a lot of test-taking, cheating, hair-cutting and of course fighting in between this scene and the next time we see Kiba and Hinata interact (well, an interaction that is worth mentioning in here, since there were a couple of team 8 scenes in the Forest of Death but they aren’t KibaHina).

Kiba has just lost his preliminary exam fight to Naruto. Must be a blow to his ego. And Hinata cheered more for Naruto than Kiba. But there’s no need to dwell on that. After Hinata ends up giving Naruto a special medicinal cream, she gives the same cream (a whole container worth) to Kiba.

Now, this is weird, isn’t it? Hinata saved that cream for Naruto, for she did not offer it to anybody else (though there were several fights beforehand). Yet, she also apparently saved some cream for Kiba. Why she saved it for Naruto was obvious: she has deep feelings for the guy. But why Kiba? Is it because he was her teammate and she genuinely cared about his healing?

^ At this point in the manga, that’s the most logical answer.

(But she didn’t offer the medicine to Shino after his match….well, he wasn’t completely beat up after his match, so this fat can be disregarded.)

But this moment also displays how much Kiba actually cares for Hinata.

Instead of simply accepting the cream, Kiba starts telling Hinata to look out. He warns her about forfeiting the exams if she were to end up fighting Gaara or Neji.

What’s interesting is that Kiba said “Neji’s cruel to you”. So, Kiba knows about the Hyuuga clan’s inner battles? Naruto and Sakura seemed unaware of Neji’s attitude towards Hinata, so it seems like this isn’t exactly common knowledge. (Lee knew, but he said that was because this was "normal" with old houses such as the Hyuugas, though Kiba seems to know more detail.)

How Kiba knows such information is questionable. Hinata doesn’t seem like the type to gossip and/or complain about her family’s troubles, so Kiba probably came to this observation simply by watching Neji interact with Hinata. Though, there is no way of knowing for sure.

What can be said, though, is that Kiba cared enough to remember that Neji is no good towards Hinata. That, added to the fact that Kiba was worried about Hinata’s overall safety during her fight, makes it rather obvious that Kiba cares about the girl.

This is really the first time the readers see a Kiba that isn’t confident and battle-ready. Instead, we’re given a few, short panels about how this boy may actually have a soft spot.

The next few KibaHina moments come during the final battles of the Chuunin exam.

Well, it’s kind of a moment. (I’m not a delusional shipper that will make more than there is to a scene.)

After Hinata and Naruto have their little speech the day of the final Chuunin exams tournament, Kiba appears.

He asks, “Huh?” But then he thinks to himself “What’s this?” when he notices Hinata gazing after Naruto.

Plus, notice those four little lines around Kiba’s face as he thinks this. These lines generally represent the character’s surprised state in the manga. But why would Kiba be surprised, after all, he is the one that approached Hinata. Maybe Hinata looking after Naruto like that surprised Kiba?

Now…what could that mean?

The next interaction we see between Kiba and Hinata is when the final Chuunin exam begins. Kiba and Hinata sit together.

(Kiba doesn’t attend with his mother, sister, or even with his sensei. In fact, they don’t even end up sitting next to any one of the other genin from Konoha. They sit together. Not really significant at this point, but it still seems sweet.)

Then, as Neji and Naruto’s fight goes on, Hinata starts feeling ill. Kiba notices.

Kiba seems very alarmed (note the little exclamation point)

Also, notice the look Kiba has in his eyes when he realizes that Hinata is not completely healed from her fight with Neji yet. It seems as though Kiba is more than just a little worried.

When that weird “ANBU” guy comes out of nowhere to take a look at Hinata, Kiba gets defensive. It also happens when the ANBU member starts healing Hinata.

(You can’t leave the health of your girl in just anyone’s hands ^.^)

And, when “life returns to Hinata’s face”, Kiba doesn’t seem mad at all.

But that happiness is short-lived since the weird ANBU guy knocks out Kiba. There are some cute mini-panels of the two of them lying unconscious next to each other.

But actually, there aren’t any more Kiba and Hinata moments for the rest of part 1. (I told you, there really aren’t many.)

Sasuke leaves Konoha. Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba and Neji go after Sasuke. A bunch of chapters later, they don’t get Sasuke back. Naruto ends up fighting Sasuke. That doesn’t really work. Naruto leaves Konoha to train.

All the while, there are very few moments of team 8. There are none between Kiba and Hinata, a sad yet true fact.

And when Naruto returns 2.5 years later, we begin part 2.

However, part 2 isn’t exactly KibaHina central, either. In fact, there are more KibaHina moments in part 1 than part 2 at this point (chapter 390).

But again, Kiba and Hinata are both rather minor characters. Plus, Hinata still has longing feelings for Naruto. It kind of hinders any development between Kiba and Hinata.

Let’s fast forward to chapter 282 (geez, the last time there was a KibaHina moment noted it was chapter 105!). We get to see Kiba and Hinata (…and others) for the first time after the time-skip.

Unfortunately, Hinata still has feelings for Naruto. That much hasn’t changed.

What’s interesting about this scene is that Hinata faints, and Kiba comes over and asks Hinata why she falls over every time she sees Naruto. Many people said that this was Kiba’s way of letting Naruto know that Hinata has feelings for him (as Kiba always ends up teasing Hinata about her crush).

However, when that scene was animated into the Naruto Shippuden episode, Kiba’s voice was anything but informing. In fact, it (Kiba's voice) seemed more or less frustrated that Hinata always fainted. Jealousy, perhaps? Since it was the anime, though, the tone of voice can be considered filler. Or can it? My opinion is that Kiba was frustrated. That’s what I thought the moment I read that scene.

Ok, well, team 8 shows up again in chapter 354…

Really, though, there are no KibaHina moments after that. It’s the unfortunate truth. It’s a whole lotta Uchiha-ness and character death. *sigh*

But yeah, as for canon KibaHina, we’re through.

That was about three solid pages worth of KibaHina (told you there wasn’t a lot). However, although it’s not canon, there are some anime scenes I’d like to point out.

Fillers:

Please remember that all of which I’m about to say is not canon and is from filler moments of the anime. Fillers do not play any role in the plot of the manga. Yes, I know the difference between filler and canon and will try to uphold the dignity of this manifesto by separating the filler from the canon.

In episode 176, there is a very…interesting moment. I know that it’s a filler and that it has zero worth compared to the manga, but this is still a peculiar scene.

I only watched some filler episodes, and this one I only watched because it had Kiba in it. It just so happens that I caught this moment.

In this particular filler, Kiba, Hinata and Naruto are sent on a mission together.

Hinata just finished thanking Naruto. Kiba, in response, does some weird eye-twitching movement and then yanks—and I mean forcefully pulls—Naruto away, saying “Let’s go, Naruto!”

To anyone who has eyes, Kiba is jealous. However, that’s not the part that got me interested. The point of fillers is to fill in space while the manga advances so that the anime never has a chance at catching up.

Fillers don’t add to plot. They can’t since they normally have nothing to do with the manga/actual storyline. They generally don’t add romantic feelings for a character unless they’re simply emphasizing romantic feelings that were already present in canon.

So…what’s with Kiba being jealous?

Could this be the animators’ way of letting the viewers know that Kiba does indeed have feelings for Hinata? Emphasizing feelings that were supposedly present in the manga (and if you paid special attention, you’ll see that t hose feelings may very well exist)? Because there was absolutely no need to show that scene, if you think about it.

There’s also the Shippuden episode (episode 33) where team 8 is re-introduced.

While Hinata has fainted, Kiba is the one fanning her to get her to wake up. Shino seems to be sulking that Naruto didn’t recognize him.

Kiba is the only one who’s thinking about what will happen if Kurenai comes and Hinata is not awake. Again, we are shown that Kiba cares for the girl.

Also, in the end of that episode, we are shown Kiba and Hinata interacting again. They mention how they’ve grown. Kiba mentions that Hinata still twiddles her fingers and faints whenever she sees Naruto. So, Kiba notices the little things Hinata does? That’s cute, though it is still filler.

And, at the very, very end of that episode, Kiba and Hinata are laughing when Shino comes out from behind the tree. He mentions that Kiba and Hinata should remember that he’s there, too. It makes you wonder how long these two have been ignoring Shino (no offense to Shino) and how often these two forget he’s there. Do they often get lost in their own little world when they’re together?

Ending Comments:

Oh well…So, I come to the end. Hopefully, this wasn’t a complete waste of time and I managed to convince somebody that KibaHina does indeed have a chance at becoming canon. If I even affirmed one person of that fact, I’d be happy.

*sigh* If it wasn’t clear that Kiba cares for Hinata, then re-read what I’ve written. The boy does care, but unfortunately, Hinata’s still lost in her Naruto reverie. But that doesn’t matter. Kiba will keep caring for the girl no matter what.

And that’s what I like about this couple. Kiba has mentioned several times that Hinata likes Naruto (though, not so directly). Still, he genuinely cares about her safety. He doesn’t put her down. He looks out for her when she isn’t feeling well. He doesn’t want to see her fighting against a stronger opponent.

He doesn’t want to see her hurt.

The amount of Kiba --> Hinata care that’s been thrown at the reader is significant. It definitely rivals with the amount of times Naruto has been shown caring about Hinata.

And that’s another point I’d like to bring up. During part 2, it became clear to me that NaruHina is just not the direction Kishimoto is headed in. Of course, I’m not Kishimoto so I don’t know for sure at all, nor is this an Anti-NaruHina essay. But, it’s my strong guess.

Does KibaHina need to happen? No, not really. They are rather minor characters, and in a shounen manga, it seems unlikely that a romance between them will be intensely focused on. Still, I like to think that they’d make a good match. The “wild” boy with the shy, quiet girl. Has a Tarzan-esque feel to it, doesn’t it?

Do I think KibaHina will happen? I’m not sure…I don’t think it will get a tremendous amount of panel time if it is indeed developed, however, that doesn’t mean I think it has no chance. It’s plausible, and I’m not counting it out yet. I definitely think this couple has a chance. As I mentioned earlier, I don’t believe NaruHina has a strong chance at becoming canon. But I cannot ignore that KibaHina…well, they’re adorable. The boy that noticed her while she was longing to be noticed.

So, this was rather short compared to other manifestos. Oh well. Quality over quantity, right? Hopefully, my first manifesto had some sort of quality in it.

I’d appreciate constructive criticism. But please, refrain from flames if KibaHina is not your cup of tea. I really don’t want to go through a bunch of immature comments, because I know you all are above leaving such notes.

Firefly:

Almost forgot! The title of this manifesto was “Firefly”, yet I haven’t really mentioned the basis for such.

Ok, while thinking of a possible title, I had a song stuck in my head. I listened to the song again in hopes of getting it unstuck, and as I was listening, there were a couple of lyrics I liked.

The song is “Firefly” by the A*Teens.

And if you tell me how to make you understand

I'm minor in a major kinda way

“Minor in a major kind of way”. Hmmm….While Kiba may not be whom Hinata considers a potential love interest …yet, Kiba will still be there for her. He doesn’t really care if he has to stand in the shadows of the blonde, because he’ll always care for Hinata. He’ll always be a good friend to her. She doesn’t ever have to worry about that changing.

So that’s why I thought Firefly would be a cute title.

Firefly come back to me

Fics/Fanarts/Links:

Let’s start with the fics. I obviously can’t post every KibaHina fic here, but here are some to get your KxH juices flowing.

Mirrors by Renoa Heartilly

In Three Years by Queen Dopplepoppleous

Tree Conversations by Burping Goddess

Only Good Boys Have Fangs by Sharingank

Though, there are so many more, this is all I’ll leave you with.

As for the fanarts. -__- There’s so many I don’t know where to begin!

Here, try these: It’s the KibaxHina fanart gallery (link courtesy to the Puppy Love fanclub at Naruto Forums).

Pretty much every KibaHina fanart I’ve ever seen is there, so it’s worth a good look.

There's also What I'm Trying to Say:  A Kiba/Hinata Fanmix EP which was made by

llivla

 

And of course, I must link to the Puppy Love Fanclub because they are the ones who inspired me to write this!

And they’re amazing people, too, so you should check it out if you haven’t already!

So, that’s about all! Remember to leave a comment, as I’d really appreciate that! Criticism is always welcomed, just please no flames.

Thanks for your time,

Farihstar.

Comments

[archica.livejournal.com]

I've always been open to KibaHina, though I'm more of a NejiHina fan. I think it's interesting that Kiba is probably the one character in the series (aside from perhaps Jiraiya or the fourth Hokage) who is most similar to Naruto in terms of personality. It's undoubtedly Naruto's personality that attracts Hinata. It makes perfect sense that the same qualities she likes in Naruto could attract her to Kiba. And people tend to forget that it's entirely possible to have a crush (even a very deep one) on more than one person. Just because she has a thing for Naruto, it doesn't mean she can't have feelings for anyone else.

[farihstar.livejournal.com]

Despite the fact that I really like KibaHina, at this point, I don't think we've been shown a lot of Hinata --> Kiba care. Though, I guess Kiba and Naruto's matching personalities would push for Hinata starting to like Kiba. And realistically, seeing as how she spent 2.5 years with Kiba without seeing Naruto, I actually would expect Hinata to gain romantic feelings for Kiba. But she hasn't, at least not at this point.

But I do think KibaHina can happen. She's one of the only characters (the other being Akamaru, really) that can bring out the softer side of him.

[llivla.livejournal.com]

Resident NejiHina but OMFG KIBA IS SO CUTE WITH HER, they're really under-appreciated and often get no development when slapped together as the side pairing. D; His protective nature of her is not one that should be overlooked; he's very careful with her and their relationship is healthy. When she mutters Kiba never disregards her, one part of his body language or another is intuned and letting her know her existence is acknowledged--a large part of the manga's theme of friendship. Whether Kiba's acknowledgment goes beyond that for a teammate is unknown, that Hinata honestly can't contemplate anyone could like her is another block (she likes Naruto but lacks the confidence to tell him) but hey, that's what fandom is for. Thank you so much for writing one for them, they deserve it. I squeed over the Part Two filler with him flipping out over her. <3

I made an EP fanmix for the couple if you want me to link it. :'D

[farihstar.livejournal.com]

His little ways of noticing her ARE incredibly subtle. This has to be one of the most subtle romances I've ever seen. But I think it's still present enough to give the reader some sort of clue that Kiba's into her, which I think he definitely is.

And of course you can link to your fanmix. :)

[llivla.livejournal.com]

Agreed. And sadly, most don't understand subtle =/= boring. Lol, maybe the reason the fandom for it is so small is -because- it's so sneaky. xD I see like, two kids, who get along really well. If they ever had sex, I think I'd 'lol' because I'm not a believer that Hinata is a wild-cat in bed and would actually be freaking out, and Kiba would be so paranoid of doing it wrong like when he was waving a handkerchief at Hinata and *explodes in adorableness*

Durr~ :3


What I'm Trying To Say: A Kiba/Hinata Fanmix EP (http://llivla.livejournal.com/36593.html#cutid1)

[farihstar.livejournal.com]

I linked to your fanmix...and lol at KibaHina sex. ahhh they're too cute.

[(Anonymous)]

really nice work, you made a good argument, with clear points showing possible outcomes, defiantly on of the better manifesto's I've seen

and as for "The “wild” boy with the shy, quiet girl" I've always seem them more as billy Joels "uptown girl and downtown boy" myself :)

Love it!

[xgaaraxlustx.livejournal.com]

I really, really love this. KibaHina is down played a lot.
Although I'd like to point out, Hinata does not technically have a "glaringly obvious" crush on Naruto.
She's a VERY timid, self conscious, and shy person. People think it's totally impossible that she doesn't have a crush on him, whereas they fail to realize that Naruto is her idol at least, and it's normal enough just for someone of Sakura's confidence to get flustered around someone they admire to that extent. Naruto is everything she wants to be.
She never acknowledges him as a crush. When she thinks about him, it's mostly related to, "I want to be like you." stuff.
So I suppose you could think differently, but unless she identifies him as a crush and not an idol in her head, then you don't have to necessarily think that "she's obviously in love with him". [[ you didn't say that, but lots of anti-NS people throw that in our face "We have no idea if Naruto still likes Sakura, yet it's SO obvious Hinata loves him". Even though I'm not sure why her fainting means she loves him ]]

um...yeah

[like-hell-no.livejournal.com]

Yeah I have no problem with the KibaHina thing an all that, but I just think that some of your points are a little off... to me, you're just underlining that Kiba looks out for Hinata as a friend, and that under any other circumstances, you could count ShinoHina as well. For example, when he was "angry" that she was in pain, I would be quite upset if my friends were in pain as well, and I would be unsure as well if some random masked guy just came up and was all like "I'm masked, let me heal your friend, OMG BOOBY FEEL" XD and its like dude, people do care, because he seems like a brother. its a big brother's instinct to not like little sister crushes (Even though I don't believe Hinata has a crush on Naruto, more swinging towards admiration) and do you not think its rational for them to be introduced together (and Shino) because they are in the same team participating for the chuunin exams :D

So basically, I'm not hitting on your essay and flaming it, I just came here rather disappointed, as I was hoping to see any bright sides of KibaHina, as I'm open to new pairings, but I really just can't see it as anything more than a brotherly-sisterly realtionship, and I have to say yuor essay just underlined that. But I will agree, it'll be really cute :D

Re: um...yeah

[farihstar.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm sorry you were disappointed. But you have to remember that there were few KibaHina moments throughout the series, and that she still has a huge crush on Naruto. Therefore, the thing for me to underline was that Kiba cared for Hinata, for Hinata has yet to turn her attention away from Naruto.

And, as I pointed out, Kiba shows a rare kind side to Hinata. Which may say something. Since there is no canon admittance of such a Kiba crush, I can't become a deluded shipper and claim that he's "ZOMG IN LUV WITH HINATA!!" I make do with that the manga gives me.

If you could analyze the scenes I did in a way that would underline there romantic relationship in a way you sought fit, then I'd love to add them to the manifesto.

Re: um...yeah

[like-hell-no.livejournal.com]

i understand what you mean, i support couples that have barely any screen time together, life sucks that way XDD

i'm still a firm believer that hinata doesn't have a crush on Naruto, she just admires him greatly and her being the shy person she is, of course she fainted when he was gone for a couple of years and then suddenly in her face.

and if i do find evidence that kiba is crushing on hinata i will have renewed interest in the couple but for me there is no spark.

i do think if kibahina has any chance Kishi will be doing something in the upcoming chapters where kiba saves her or something epic like that.

so i'll be looking for it there :D

and i would just like to say that i do have absolutely nothing agaist kibahina and i'm not being a BIG SUPER FLAMER OF GRAMMATICAL ERRORS, it just doesn't really, y'know take my fancy.

[heystella.livejournal.com]

Aww! Thank you for writing this; you pretty much covered all the reasons why I love these two as a pairing. Considering Hinata is no doubt attracted to Naruto's personality, I'm surprised she doesn't have a thing for Kiba as well. Their relationship is so often overlooked; I'm glad that others have noticed the subtleties in the way they interact, from the way he can be so loud yet he's careful not to talk down on her, to the way he still acknowledges her strength of character and as a ninja but still he doesn't want her fighting against a stronger opponent. I think theirs would definitely be a relationship that slowly grows over time from teammates/friends to genuine love.

Like some of the others here, I'm a NejiHina shipper at heart, but I've always liked KibaHina equally so; I've just found that it's harder for me to write... In any case, I do think that KibaHina has a much better chance of happening in canon than NaruHina... that and KibaHina would just make more sense in my opinion. =]

Great essay!

[izzy321.livejournal.com]

While most of their interactions in the anime and manga could be interpreted merely as a close frienship/teamates/a brother and sister relationship, I've always found myself thinking that Kiba has a bit of crush on Hinata, mainly just because he always seems to be the one person who's always concerned for her, proteting her, and supporting her. I know filler doesn't count, but the part of him dragging Naruto away just screamed jealousy to me. On the other hand, I considered his frustrated tone when asking Hinata why she always fainted around Naruto more like "It's sort of annoying how you keep fainting all the time" than "Why do you faint over Naruto and not me?", although I can see your point, too.

I think they look cute together, but I don't think that a romantic relationship between the two will become canon, simply because there's no real reason for Kishimoto to include it, and the intended audience for shounen manga wouldn't care.

Good essay, especially considering how little screen time team 8 gets. :(

[gonrie.livejournal.com]

If I see Hinata with anyone in the end, it would be Kiba.
Seriously, her crush on Naruto annoy me. For me, it's kinda obvious that his obsession for Sasuke could really turn into something more.
And I don't know why, but I always got this feeling that Kiba may wants to start a kind of relationship with her.
Anyway, they would be perfect! XD
Good essay, and also really realistic! I enjoyed!

[robina1984.livejournal.com]

You forgot a scene that cliched a Kiba/Hinata relationship in my mind. Chapter 58, right after Garra and his sibs have made it through the forest and it ha been noted that Garra doesn't have a scratch on him, we get a flashback. Kiba, Hinata and Shino are rushing through the trees. Kiba is on an emotional high because thier plan with the slugs worked and they have the scroll they need. Shino cautions him that they aren't out of danger yet, and Kiba yells at him (evidenced by the pointy speech bubble), puts Shino down ("how you always twist everything around until it relates back to insects amazes me" Not much of a put down, but still a smart-alec comment that seems to be an attempt to save face), and goes off about how he's still "the leader of this team". Very next panel, Hinata just points out that "maybe Shino has a point too". Kiba's response is the first non-pointy speech bubble of the scene for him, "All right Hinata! Fine!!!"

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but his reaction to Hinata was calmer. Annoyed, yes, but not the very defensive attitude Kiba showed Shino. And it's right after that that Kiba notices something (Garra's fight) and turns to Hinata to check it out, even though Shino gets more intel. (Hinata says it's a fight. Duh, we're in a forest of ninja, I'm sure fights are happening. Shino tells them it's six people, which seems a bit more valuable in the info department. Hinata only seeing Garra doesn't seem helpful...)

Not a big dramatic scene, but still there, and this pairing needs all the support it can get! Nice essay!