How would you feel if the one you loved had a lover and the lover is not you? You would feel extremely sad, right? Well, that was how Shino Aburame felt. What he was feeling was beyond what words can say. In fact, he became so depressed when Kiba Inuzuka and Hinata Hyuga went into a relationship, he could not sleep! Thank goodness he wore sunglasses! Otherwise everyone would have noticed the dark rings around his eyes.

Shino felt like his whole world was destroyed when Kiba told him the raven-haired Hyuga and him were more than friends. And the worst part was that the day Kiba and Hinata became lovers was the day Shino wanted to confess his feelings.

Shino felt like another Hinata as he started playing with his fingers nervously. Thank goodness for his collar otherwise people would have noticed the blush painted on his cheeks!

"Shino?" the blonde Yamanaka exclaimed the boy's name when he entered the flower shop. If he did not have to protect his pride, he would have just fainted right then.

"...I'm just getting flowers for the bugs..." he told her, trying to make her believe nothing was up. She then nodded and gave him a bouquet of different flowers.

He had to admit: He felt extremely nervous. He walked to the training field and saw his two teammates there, hugging each other.

"Yo, Shino!" Kiba shouted as soon as he saw the bug-lover,"Hinata and I are officially lovers!"

Right there and then, Shino could feel his heart break. It was as if there was a wound on his heart that could never be healed. It was like...

...His world had ended...

He turned around and walked back home without saying anything, dropping the bouquet of flowers on the grass behind the bushes.

Ever since that day, the scene has been replaying in Shino's mind every night and no matter how hard he tried, he could not think of anything else. Whenever he did, he would end up thinking about that day again.

He became even more, if possible, quiet and anti-social since that day. After all, who would not if their hearts had been broken like that? He did not want to get hurt again.

...Never again...

Why does he not just fight Kiba for Hinata, you may ask. Well, the position he is in is much more complicated. You see, Kiba has been his only true friend since young. When he was a kid, people called him gross and all because he had bugs coming out from his body. But Kiba was the only one back then who accepted him. Kiba was his first ever friend. Though they fought often, they were still very good friends. He definitely did not want to ruin so many years of friendship just for his own selfish reasons.

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After completing everything he had to do that afternoon, Shino headed to Ichiraku ramen. He was hungry after doing so many things and let us not forget the fact that he is also tired from not being able to sleep at night.

The bug-lover almost jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He knew the only person who would grip his shoulder like that was his best friend, Kiba.

"Yo, Shino!" the dog-lover grinned his silly grin. Shino simply nodded and he suddenly winced, realising how cold he was. Maybe that was probably why so many people hated him. Maybe Hinata also hates him too! He was thinking too much again.

"'Scuse me..." He stood up and walked away. He knew the pain of being hated and he hated it. Maybe being hated was just part of his fate... Oh God, the thought only made him feel like crying. Wait... Crying? Now that was not right! Since a kid, the brown-haired Aburame never cried! Not even when people laughed about the fact that he had a girl's name and not even when he was alone in the past.

"Oi, Shino! What the hell is wrong with you? Even Naruto, who is always so oblivious, notices something!" Kiba shouted from behind. Shino froze. He is so screwed.

"I have not been sleeping well lately..." he replied.

"Ah ha!" Shino jumped as Kiba exclaimed,"There is something wrong! You usually don't reply my questions unless necessary! Freaking tell me what the hell is going on!"

This is it.

"I..."

This is the time.

"I love..."

Just tell him already!

"I love Hinata..."

Kiba immediately froze.