Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing (which is a good thing, as I would completely butcher the entire series)

This story is set somewhere in the break before Shippuden, after the Konoha rookies pass the Chunin exams but before Naruto returns.

"Hinata-chan! Akamaru, can you smell her?"

"Ruff!"

"So she is down here somewhere then." Kiba wandered further down the deserted side street, following Akamaru's sharp sense of smell. "Hinata-chan! Where are you?"

"K… Kiba-kun?" Kiba ran towards the voice, finding the girl he was looking for huddled in the corner of two walls. She looked absolutely horrible. Her eyes were red and bloodshot from crying and the tears had left clean paths on her grimy face. Her clothing was ripped and worn. There was a lot of blood all over her and even though Kiba knew that most was not hers, she did still have injuries that needed to be looked at. And honestly, Kiba hated seeing Hinata with any kind of blood on her. But thinking about the blood led to thinking about the boy whose blood was all over her and that was the problem that led to the situation they were now in. He sighed.

"Akamaru, go find Neji so he knows that she's safe." Akamaru barked once before running off and Kiba slowly sat down next to Hinata. The poor girl looked as though she was ready to run away at any moment. Kiba knew that as much as she wanted to be alone at the moment, that really was not the best idea. So they just sat there for a few moments, until Kiba felt her begin to sniffle again, trying to hold back her sobs but not being entirely successful. He reached out an arm and gently draped it across her shoulders, pulling her into his side. She stiffened at first, and tried to pull away, but when he showed no signs of letting her go she finally gave up, collapsing against his side. At that point he carefully picked her up and cradled her in his lap, wrapping his arms securely around her. But she was still holding back her tears.

"W…Why are you here Kiba?"

"We were all worried about you, Hinata. You ran away before anyone could take a look at your injuries. Neji and Ino are all out looking for you as well."

"G… Gomen, Kiba. I didn't mean to make you worry. I just couldn't stay there anymore. I can't watch as Tsunade-sama and Sakura fight for Shino's life. It's all my fault…"

"Hinata … you know that nobody believes that."

"Well they should! It's my fault that Shino is in the hospital. He jumped in front of the attack that was meant for me! If I had been paying more attention, then none of this would've happened. It's all my fault."

"No, it's not. Shino did that for you because he cared about you and he didn't want to see you get hurt. I know that because I feel the same way, Hinata. We would do anything to protect you."

"But why! I'm a failure who doesn't even notice enemy attacks. It's too dangerous for me to go out on missions with anyone because I can't take care of myself and it just forces other people to put themselves in harm's way. That's not how a Shinobi is supposed to be. A Shinobi is supposed to be a reliable person who can take care of themselves and everyone around them. Perhaps my father and the other Hyuugas are right." When Hinata said this, Kiba grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look him in the eyes.

"No Hinata… I've heard the things they say about you. They are wrong, completely wrong about you. You are not weak and you are not a failure. You are strong enough to continue with your training, to fight to be a Shinobi even when all you heard growing up was that you could never do it. But look at you now! You are a Chunin; you are mastering your Byakugan. Even Neji acknowledges you as a formidable foe."

"What about today though? I wasn't paying attention… I was too busy scanning the area for other enemies to notice the one who had snuck up behind me."

"He got in your blind spot, Hinata. I was there, I saw him a split second before Shino stepped between you two and deflected the worst of his jutsu. You would have died, Hinata… Shino knew that. He knew that there was a chance he would die as well, but there was also a chance that he would live. There would have been no chance for you to live if you had been struck with the full power of that jutsu."

"But how could he do that? Why would he consider giving up his life for mine? I know that there is a chance he will live but there is also a chance he could die. He could die, Kiba! Then he would be gone forever."

"If he dies then yes, he will be gone forever. But I know that Shino won't die. He's too stubborn for that. I would make the same sacrifice for you or Shino if that situation arose. We're a team, we look out for each other and care for each other." Hinata hugged Kiba tightly, never wanting to let go. She didn't know what to make of his words. She had spent so long blaming herself for everything and assuming that no one really loved her. Sure, she had friends, but she never thought that any of them would willingly lay down their lives for her. Kiba wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her close, as he spoke reassurances to her.

"Shhh… it'll be okay… Shino will be fine and soon enough the three of us will be back to our training and driving each other crazy… it's okay to cry…" Hinata finally let down all of her walls, releasing the flood of emotion that had been building up inside her. Kiba just held her as the violent sobs wracked her body, holding just as tightly as the sobs settled into quiet sniffles and the tears ceased to well up in her eyes.

They continued just sitting against that wall for many minutes, until Kiba realized that Hinata had fallen asleep. Just as he was attempting to stand, while trying not to jostle the sleeping girl too much, Neji appeared in the alleyway. He quickly relieved the other boy of his burden, knowing that Kiba had not taken the time to treat his own injuries before chasing after his teammate.

"I just got word from Sakura that they are finished treating Shino. He will make a full recovery given time." Kiba sighed.

"That's good. I knew he wouldn't leave yet. Hinata will be glad to hear that when she wakes up."

"Will you be able to make it back to the hospital on your own?"

"Ha, I wasn't that badly injured, Neji." Neji simply raised an eyebrow at Kiba, before turning and walking in the direction of the hospital, cradling his cousin in his arms. Kiba followed, thinking about the events of the day and fervently thanking every deity he could think of that they had all made it out alive. When the three teens arrived at the hospital, it wasn't long before Sakura and Shizune had both of the other members of Team 8 treated and tucked into medical beds in the same room as their more severely injured teammate. Kiba looked from Hinata on his one side, to Shino on the other, to Akamaru who was curled up on the end of his bed. Content in the knowledge that his teammates were safe and would survive another day, he joined them in slumber.