Chapter 41: Meeting Team 8

Kael walked through the familiar streets with his hands in his jacket pockets, still turning over the morning’s near-disaster in his head. Getting Ino out of the house without being caught had been far too close. The relief of making it back to relative normalcy felt almost physical.

He rounded a corner and nearly walked straight into two familiar figures.

Kiba Inuzuka stood with Akamaru perched on his head as usual, arguing about something with the tall, hooded figure beside him. Shino Aburame. The moment Kael’s eyes landed on them the old anime memories slotted into place. Kiba—the loud, competitive dog lover who had treated every spar with Naruto like a personal grudge match. Shino—the quiet one who spoke in clipped sentences and controlled swarms of insects like it was the most natural thing in the world. Their third teammate had always been Hinata.

Kael slowed. This was a good chance to check how much of the original timeline still held.

"Yo," he called.

Both of them turned. Kiba’s face lit up with recognition, then immediately shifted into that familiar competitive smirk. "Naruto? You’re finally back from that mission?"

Shino gave a small nod. "It has been some time."

Kael stopped in front of them. "Yeah. Just got in yesterday." He glanced around casually. "Where’s Hinata? Isn’t she usually with you two?"

Kiba and Shino both looked over their shoulders at the same time, as if expecting her to be standing right there.

"She was just here a second ago," Kiba said, frowning. "Where the hell did she go?"

Shino adjusted his collar slightly. "Strange. She did not say she was leaving."

Kael kept his expression neutral while his thoughts moved quickly. In the original story Hinata’s feelings for Naruto had been built on years of watching him get rejected by the village, on the way he kept standing up no matter how many times he was knocked down. That entire tragic backstory no longer existed here. Naruto had grown up with living parents, a comfortable home, and a village that treated him normally. There was a real chance her quiet crush had never formed the same way—or had faded completely.

He filed the thought away for later.

"Well," Kael said, "if you see her, tell her I said hi. Anyway, I’ll catch you guys later."

Kiba scratched Akamaru’s ear and suddenly grinned. "Hey, why don’t we all hang out sometime? Whole team, maybe a few others. It’s been ages since we did anything that wasn’t a mission."

Kael considered it for half a second. More social connections meant more information about this altered world, and it would look normal. "Yeah, that sounds good. Just let me know when you want to do it."

"Deal," Kiba said. Shino gave another small nod of agreement.

Kael raised a hand in a short goodbye and continued down the street toward his apartment.

---

Behind the corner of a nearby building, Hinata Hyuga pressed her back against the wall, both hands over her chest.

She had seen him the moment he turned the corner.

Naruto.

It had been so long since she last stood this close to him. Her heart was beating so hard she was certain the others must have heard it. The second his eyes started scanning the street she had panicked and slipped out of sight. Now she stayed hidden, listening to the short conversation, barely daring to breathe until his footsteps finally faded.

Only when she was sure he was gone did she let out a shaky exhale.

He looked different somehow. Calmer. The usual loud energy she remembered was still there under the surface, but something in the way he carried himself had changed.

Hinata closed her eyes for a moment and tried to steady her racing pulse.

She still had no idea what to do with the feelings that refused to go away.

---

Give me power!!!