A/N: Enjoy. I know it's short, but please review if you like!

Rain

"1"

My official expiration date is November 15th, but if you want the truth: I could die at any moment. Yet I hunger, cling to only one thing, or person really, and that's Hinata Hyuuga. It's funny in a dark, twisted way that I don't even have a full year left and just this morning I couldn't get it out of my head to have Hinata fall in love with me.

If only you knew how noble she is, you'd spit on me for even thinking of it. Neji would annihilate you, you'd say. The very attempt could land a death warrant that'll lead to you wasting your limited days in a rotting prison cell.

You know what I'd say?

It's worth it.

To hear her mean it when she says: "I love you" that's all I want. It's insane for me to try, but risking life and limb would be worth a kiss, maybe more.

I finally drag myself out of bed, knock one day down on my numbered wooden blocks countdown to: 256 days. I feel the usual pinch from anxiety and whisper, "Notice me already, will you?" though I know she can't hear me. I smile, thinking she's probably snug in a grand bed that I wish had me next to her. Actually, any bed would do considering I sleep on a huge bag full of seed pallets. I stretch, cracking my neck and shoulders, lifting the giant bag in my arms to put it on the shelf.

I can already smell the flowers of the Yamanaka Shop sweep into the room, nestling under my nose and making it crinkle. Personally, I prefer the smell of dirt and sweat slicking my skin, or even when Akamaru wets his fur, than preserved lilacs in the dearth of winter. It's too effeminate for my tastes, plus the smell of flowers reminds me of her.

I catch her with her back turned to me, hunched over a small desk scribbling away.

"You know, you could just lie on the floor to do all that," I yawn, flipping her pony tail up and watching it swoosh up and back down like a fox tail. She's concentrating, gripping her head and squaring off numbers, checking things off of a long list.

If it could, I think my stomach would jump out of its empty cage, and crawl along the floor for anything to eat, but it's stuck with me the same way Ino is. We're both orphans, or more precisely parentless and clan-less adults, since that rogue bastard Sasuke worked up a war with anyone who ever hated Konoha and managed to go around slaughtering family to family. When they were finally apprehended with the only surviving person of the Yamanaka Clan was Ino, and my clan was the only other clan to be nearly exterminated.

So, now we live in the back of the crumbling Yamanaka Flower Shop, living off of the strength of my labored work and her family's business. Most of the time we're penniless, but in the winter we don't even have a roof too call our own, lenders pitched in to loan us some extra wood for the top.

"Some women make men breakfast," I say just to provoke her, snap her out of her troubles. I never told her that I'll be gone soon; I'm too cowardly for that. It'd be too painful to see her scramble about as the last one surviving of her clan to see my clan extinct. She thinks too much, I always tell her and her superstitions she holds onto are strange, but I just know she'd think her life's in danger too. I made up my mind to say I'll explore the world and get as far away as possible and die in a bed of roses with Akamaru waiting for me to die, thinking of the love of my life Hinata, and my unlikely best friend Ino.

I close my eyes, imagining the peace. Yes, I'd like that.

"Some men," Ino slams her hand against the rickety table, snatching away my thoughts, "work their ass off to provide the food for women to make."

"Good point," I say, trying to recollect my previous thoughts to no avail. I blow a sigh, "So, today's the day."

Ino groans, already knowing where this morning is headed. She gathers the papers messily and I think she's pretending not to hear me when she says: "You're only going to make a fool of yourself."

"I'm alright with that," I grin.

"Of course you are, tell me again your brilliant plan."

"Plan?" I touch my lip with curiosity. "I figured I kidnap her and force her to be mine forever and ever."

"Right, I don't have time for this—"

"I'm going to tell her I love her, obviously."

"All at once, take her out for a walk; wait a moment, just out of the blue, what?"

"I was hoping to take a few flowers to do it," I wince, waiting for her to explode and say we need the money. But she blinks at me, thinks for a second.

"You're sure she'll accept it?"

"Positive." I lie.

"Take gardenias, they're subtle yet powerful in emotions."

"I was thinking roses, you know, the color of love?"

"Yeah, and blood, and disaster, trust me on this one Kiba. You can't go wrong with gardenias."

"I'd trust you," I start, "but you've steered me wrong before, so I think I'll go with the—gardenias, damn!"

Her glare makes me want to piss my pants, but her smile is what made me actually piss them a little, "Thought so."

I'm grumbling about how scary Ino can be, and trying to lose the dot on my pants, when I see Neji. My blood churns ice as I duck around the corner and head up some random apartment steps. I chant curse words as I hope that he didn't see me, but I run into someone who makes me wish I just faced Neji, the nobleman, and told him I want to tell Hinata I love her.

"Kiba!" Naruto throws his arm around me with this, this grin on his face like it's so good to be alive and a guy named Naruto at the same time. I just want to knee him in the balls, throw him off the stair top, and pretend to cry to Hinata for some awesome grief sex.

Okay, I didn't mean that last part.

Well, not all of it, anyway.

"You didn't hear about the Winter Challenge, did you?" he tells me like I'm some absent minded child. I'm about to tell him off when I realize he's touching me without a shirt on. I shove him off me, violently, but not enough to make him take that grin off his face. No, I want to save that for my fist.

"What're you doing with your shirt on, Kiba! The man to go the rest of the winter without a shirt gets Tsunade's betting debt equivalent in cash."

Cash.

"You better not be joking," I shed off my shirt and sign the paper work at the office. I allow them to wrap the jutsu scroll that prevents a shirt from touching my skin. It's just 50 days, that's not too much. My farewell gift to Ino should be something great, like the advice and friendly love she's given to me.

I need to stop doing that.

Getting so fucking sappy that I start to tear. I have to focus on telling Hinata I love her so she can start on falling in love with me.

But what happens when she does? You're just going to leave her crying over your death all the time, you ass.

I can't breathe at the idea of causing her so much pain, but it's not like she's going to fall out of love with Naruto and thoughtlessly in love with me.

Just give her the flowers and let her remember you through them.

No. I want more. As selfish as that sounds, I want more with her. I want to love her so well that she'll never desire anything again. I want to make love with her so romantically she'll never forget who I am.

You just don't want your clan name to die out.

It could die out this very second and I'd only regret not telling her how I feel. I have to tell her.

I have to.

A/N: I hope you liked it? Please review so I know what to work on, or if you did like it. :) Happy Valentine's! The last 25 mins of it, anyway.