Work Text:
Prompt H for Heights – Way Too High!
The new Genins are training in the Forest of Death, but it turns out that one of them is afraid of heights. Actually… Hinata is petrified. Hopefully someone can help her out of the tree before anything worse happens!
Mainly Kiba/ Hinata, one-sided Naruto/ Hinata.
Hinata’s knees were shaking, hands sweaty and clenched by her face, so she didn’t have to look down. She didn’t even remember walking up here, let alone getting up this high. She was merely following Naruto and trying her best. She didn’t want Naruto to fall, after all!
But now, here she was, barely able to peek between her fingers, let alone check on Naruto. She knew he would be fine, but she wanted to see how he lit up when he got to the next branch, wanted to catch his laughter, wanted to be close by. She almost blushed just at her thoughts…
Until she opened her eyes and saw that the ground continued to get further away, despite her not moving an inch. She squeaked, hands covering her eyes as they clenched closed. Any thoughts of Naruto and how happy he made her disappeared.
The only thought that lingered was if she moved a foot over to either side, she would slip and fall.
Her breathing picked up. So, so far down… She would fall. She could break her leg. She could hurt someone else on the way down. Or worse.
Hinata shook her head, mentally trying to dispel those thoughts. Her body wavered, and she instantly feared that she would lose balance and crash to the ground. She held her breath, tears prickling at her eyes.
She couldn’t move, and she couldn’t open her eyes. She started feeling woozy, as if the air was too thin. She forgot how high she was now. Was she meters off the ground, or was she by the top of the highest tree?
Her brain refused to tell the difference. It was too high up, no matter where she was on the current tree. Her knees snapped together in her attempt to stop their quivering. She was practically vibrating in her nervousness.
A voice brought her out of her nerves, just barely. That’s Naruto-kun’s voice!
Her eyes snapped open, and she found Naruto inches from her, looking concerned and lips moving as if he was asking her a question. She merely squeaked, face heating up, as she stepped back. Then she remembered the super close distance to the edge. She took two steps forward to correct her mistake, accidentally body slamming into Naruto and knocking him over.
Naruto yelled out, falling off the side of the branch, and Hinata’s fears intensified, eyes widening as she reached out to help, but she only succeeded in spying the ground below her and starting to fall to her doom after Naruto.
Luckily, Hinata witnessed Naruto’s sensei catching him before he hit the ground, and that was all she allowed herself to see before her eyes forced themselves closed. She couldn’t bear watching herself fall. However, a hand around Hinata’s wrist pulled her back to safety.
Another hand held her other wrist, steadying her and securing her to the tree branch.
Hinata knew it wasn’t Naruto, but she was grateful for whoever it was. They saved her! At least they saved her temporarily .
She still had to find a proper way down, and she doubted she could. She was going to be stuck there, wasn’t she?
She couldn’t hold the hiccup back, a tear finding its way down her cheek, no matter how tight she tried to keep her eyes closed. She was stuck, and no one was going to help. Naruto couldn’t even help her focus on something else.
She failed. A soft sob escaped her, body’s shaking coming back full force.
There was a voice close to her, right in front of her, but she couldn’t concentrate. She was so high up, and her only way down would be to fall. She was not ready.
She barely registered the hands around her wrists anymore, heart hammering much too loudly for her to focus on anything else. She did finally realize that she started to move. Her body lurched sideways – No, not off the side!
She almost screamed, but her momentum instantly stopped as she collapsed into something warm and solid, something that even smelled familiar. Then slowly she began to sink to her knees, the presence leading the way.
Her breath caught when they finally settled. She was on something large and solid, leaning against something warm and… maybe even a little comforting. She kept her eyes closed, but she leaned further into the comfort, pressing her face against something soft. Her hands shook but found their way into the softness in front of her, and she grabbed it tightly.
The softness below her was rising and falling slow and steady, lulling her to almost sleep with how calm it was. She focused on that, and she began to take in the rest of what was happening. The hands at her wrists had disappeared, but arms were around her, hugging her loosely to the softness under her head. The warmth expanded from not only just the softness in front of her, but along the rest of her body, as if she was half laying on top of it.
The one last thing that truly captured her attention was the soft thump beneath her ear. She tilted her head, so she could listen more clearly. It was a heart, just as steady and calm as the breath from the softness under her. She listened intently, willing herself to only focus on that, and even though she could never know, she suspected her heart followed suit and slowed down, too.
As a few minutes went on, she felt her body stop trembling and her grip start to loosen. She relaxed, slowly but surely, and with that, she breathed a soft sigh. She was okay. She didn’t fall, and someone was with her.
For now, she was less likely to fall.
The arms around her tightened just faintly and pulled her closer. “Hinata,” the voice whispered somewhere just above her head. She felt it more than she heard it.
She still listened, fingers flexing and gripping the softness again. The softness was a jacket, she was starting to figure out. Something warm and a bit poofy, if she thought about it.
“Little scary up here, huh?” The voice added, sounding less like whispering and more like a normal conversation.
She nodded slowly, admitting it, but unable to say it aloud. One wrong move or word might push them off the edge.
“Yeah. It kind of scares me too.”
She was surprised. No one seemed scared of doing this… except her.
“Thought I was going to fall coming up here. That I didn’t have enough chakra control.” The voice started to sound familiar, since she was paying attention more. “But you know what I did? I pushed through my fears, and I got up here. Just like you.”
Hinata shook her head. She didn’t push through her fears. They were taking over.
The softness below her shifted, and the voice was warm, light and a little teasing. “Heh, didn’t help, huh?” The arms tightened around her, and there was a soft, shaky inhale. “I’m still a little scared too. Not sure if I can make the jump down…” The person paused. “This time, how about I help you down? Show you that we both can do it.”
She clenched her eyes closed.
“We can do it together. It’ll be teamwork, and if we die, we’ll do it together.” The voice was getting more sure, and then suddenly the arms around her shifted and picked her up under her knees and under her arms. “Okay, you tell me when to go, Hinata. Or I can do it to the count of three.”
Hinata threw her arms around the person’s neck, face still buried into her friend’s chest. He sounded so familiar, but the panic at them jumping down didn’t help her pinpoint who it was. “I— ” She shook her head again. Her words refused to come again.
The softness below her took a deep breath. “To the count of three then.” They shifted as they stood up fully, and Hinata’s heart rose into her throat.
She clenched the jacket again. They were going to do this. She was going to fall— they both were.
“One…” Her friend said, slowly, as if he was actually scared too, even just a little. “Two…” They shifted again, and she knew they were close to the edge by now. The voice muttered. “Damn that is high.”
So they both were a little scared, and as surprising as it was, Hinata was glad she wasn’t alone. Her friend had saved her, and her friend hadn’t lied.
“I’ll protect you, don’t worry.” Her friend added. “Three!” Then they were in a free fall.
Her breath stopped completely, but she was inclined to believe her friend. He would protect her; she just knew it. So she held tight, but she wasn’t afraid of getting hurt as much.
The fall lasted a bit, but when they no doubt landed on the ground, Hinata barely felt it, but she heard her friend — no Kiba! That’s Kiba’s voice! — let out a soft shout. “Yahoo! We did it! Go ahead and open your eyes, Hinata!”
Hinata’s heart was pounding, but the air wasn’t whipping around them, and they did seem to be on something solid. And she did trust Kiba, so she slowly opened her eyes and peeked down to see how far up they were.
They were on the ground, out of the tree. She could have teared up in happiness, and although she was shaking a little, it was mainly adrenaline. She was okay, and they were both on the ground, safe and sound.
She smiled a little, tilting up her face to look at her friend. “Th-thank you, Kiba.” She said softly. She was truly grateful for him.
Kiba gave her a grin. “Anytime, Hinata. Told you I’ll protect you. It’s what teammates do.”
Hinata’s smile grew some. “R-right.”
Kiba’s eyes brightened, grin widening, and Hinata’s heart raced for another reason, a surprising reason that she could not delve on at the moment, but it felt strangely like how she did when she first met Naruto. Instead, Kiba shifted her to the ground, setting her down by Akamaru, making sure she was physically sitting on the ground. “Akamaru, help her out. That jump was wild.”
Akamaru made his way over to climb into her lap, and Hinata ran a hand through his fur, the panic subsiding even more.
Kiba grinned, placing a hand on the top of Hinata’s head. “Look, we did it.”
Hinata glanced up at him, cheeks tinting pink slightly, whispering softly. “We did?”
Kiba nodded. “Yep! And we actually didn’t die, so that’s a start.” He grinned again. “But I’m not surprised, since it was both of us together. Nothing can beat that. Especially when it’s me and you.”
Hinata’s face warmed up some more, so she looked away and pressed her face into Akamaru’s fur. She was smiling though, heart fluttering. She didn’t once think of Naruto (another surprise for the day), especially when Kiba sank down to sit next to her.
Hinata was grateful, and she was happy…
And maybe, just maybe, she wanted to try to train in the trees with Kiba some more. Maybe they could face their fear of heights together?
Hinata hoped so. She was even a little excited to try next time.
As long as Kiba was there… She was safe, no matter how high she climbed; she was certain.