The sun's rays kissed the tears of the dark blue sky until it blushed with the pink streaks of the clear morning. Kiba paced back and forth in front of one of the trees of the training grounds. Shino, on the other hand, leaned against the tree itself with Akamaru, who whined with worry.

"Where is she?" Kiba asked, impatiently. "It's not like her to be late."

"Patience, Kiba." Shino replied. "I am sure there is a perfectly good reason for her to be late."

"I know, but it's just not like her to be late." Kiba stopped his pacing and raced his hand through his spiky, brown hair. "If anything, she'd be the one here early."

"Agreed." Shino knew something was off when he arrived at the grounds and didn't see the dark-haired beauty already training by her lonesome. She was always the first one to arrive. "But you cannot get worked up because she is late. Why? Because you're late all the time."

Kiba smiled wolfishly and scratched his head with a blush. "Well…yeah…but it's expected from me. Not from Hinata."

Shino nodded understandingly. "Regardless, we shall be as patient for her as we are with you."

Kiba looked at him and returned a nod. "Right."

An hour passed on with a crawl. Akamaru soon perked up and barked happily as Hinata's delicate silhouette finally showed. The two boys snapped their heads as soon as her soft voice rippled through the air.

"I-I'm so terribly sorry!" she panted. Hinata ran to them, taking in huge gulps of air. Her forehead was covered in a light sheet of sweat and her visible skin was flushed.

"Gee, Hinata, I never knew someone could beat me at being late." Kiba asked as he, Shino, and Akamaru approached.

Hinata nodded. She was still too busy catching her breath. Without a warning, her knees collapsed under her. The boys and Akamaru flinched as her delicate body fell with a small thud in front of them.

"Are you alright?" Kiba asked, putting a hand on Hinata's shoulder.

Shino flinched at the sudden contact between the two and inwardly hissed.

"I-I'm…I'm fine." Hinata breathed.

"What happened?" Shino asked, kneeling down to their level.

"I….I…" Hinata's face flushed into the next level of pink. It was then that Shino realized he may have asked a bit too harshly.

"Hinata," Shino began with a moderate tone, "It is completely alright if you were just running late."

"Yeah." Kiba piped in, "We won't be mad at you."

Hinata looked up at his two teammates through shy, lavender eyes. Both Shino and Kiba's senses stood at attention at her eyes. They were red and puffy, and her cheeks were stained with tears. There was definitely something wrong with her. Akamaru whined as he rested his big, furry head on Hinata's lap. Noticing their blank expressions, Hinata turned from pink to red as she lowered her head.

"Hinata?"

As her breathing calmed, she nodded again. "I'm fine… D-don't worry ab-out me."

Akamaru stood up as Hinata began to move. He wagged his tail as Hinata took a deep breath and stood, followed by her two teammates.

"R-ready?" she asked, softly.

Kiba snickered as he gave Shino a push towards her. Shino stumbled forward and glared back at him. He shrugged and whistled innocently.

"Don't look so surprised, bug boy. It's your day today, remember?" Kiba stated with a grin.

True, it was his turn today, but he didn't have to shove. Shino exhaled sharply at him as he straightened up his posture and nodded at Hinata. Hinata nodded as well as she followed him to the center of the field. There, they took their stances. Then, they began.

As they fought, Shino noticed something was missing. The strength of her attacks seemed off, even though she kept up with him. Dodging a swing of her Gentle Fist to his face, he realized that her Byakugan was not activated.

That's odd…

He knew she always activated it before sparring. Something was wrong. As the sparring continued, he noticed various other fallacies in her movements. Though she moved at the same speed he did, her attacks and reaction time seemed to be delayed somehow, as if she was yet again unsure of herself. He also noticed that her chakra was faltering ever so slightly.

These observations drew Shino to two conclusions:

One: Her father must have kept her up all night with the Senbon Sparring ritual.

Or

Two: Something must've happened to Hinata, and the person taking her form was doing a terrible job at impersonating her.

The latter was difficult to handle. If the person in front of him was imitating Hinata, then he had to find a way to get him or her to lose enough control of their chakra to where the jutsu itself will falter and reveal the person's true form without letting them know that he knew.

"No, that's not it." Shino inwardly shook his head as he blocked another one of Hinata's blows.

If that was the case, then Kiba and Akamaru would have detected the scent. They all had Hinata's scent implanted in their noses and their brains, so even the slightest change wouldn't had gone unnoticed. Shino suddenly snapped to attention the moment he heard Hinata whimper painfully. He managed to catch her in his arms before her body fell to the ground.

…

Hinata?

Hinata!

Hinata groaned slightly as her eyes fluttered open to see Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru looking down at her. Her face automatically went from rich cream to red velvet.

"Hinata, are you alright?" Shino asked.

"I-I'm fine…" Hinata replied while Akamaru pressed his wet nose against her cheek and whimpered.

Shino and Kiba helped her sit up. As soon as her posture straightened, she slumped and held her head in her hands.

"You sure you're okay, Hinata? You haven't acted like yourself at all today." Kiba stated.

Hinata looked at him and nodded. "Y-yes, I am alright. I just…didn't g-get much sleep last night…"

Just as Shino had expected.

"You could have said something, Hinata." Shino spoke, "We can always practice some other time."

Hinata looked at him, her soft eyes gleaming with unshed tears. From that, Shino could tell that it was about her father. Hiashi never seemed to give her a break. Even though she was his eldest daughter, she had to work thrice as hard as anyone in her clan. And that was just for his approval. Shino stared and her bright eyes, his throat tightening. God, how he hated seeing her this way.

"P-please no…" she pleaded. "I-I can handle it…R-Really, I can."

"We know you can, Hinata, but straining yourself is never good." Kiba replied. "I mean, sure, practice makes perfect, but if you don't rest, it'll hurt more than what it'll help."

"I agree with Kiba." Shino added, "Excessive training will wear you out quicker than you think."

Hinata nodded and bowed her head. "I-I'm t-terribly s-sorry for wasting yo-your time." She apologized.

Kiba sighed. He could never understand why she always blamed things on herself. Though he pondered deeply over the why of the situation, he did not miss the sight that lay before him: Hinata wrapped around Shino's arms. Shino shook her gently to stop her thread of apologies.

"You're never a waste of time, Hinata." Shino said softly.

Both Kiba and Hinata looked at Shino with different expressions. Hinata with a gentle smile. Kiba with the biggest, wolfish grin he could pull.

"Thank you, Shino…" Hinata replied, smiling shyly.

Shino could feel the blush flare through his face, his kikaichu humming excitedly. Thankfully, they couldn't see his blush, nor could they hear the humming under his skin.

"Oh, sure, don't mind me." Kiba piped up, pouting.

Both teammates looked up at him. Hinata giggled while Shino rolled his eyes. "I-I'm sorry…Th-thank you, Kiba."

"That's better." He smiled.

"Go and rest, Hinata. We'll continue tomorrow." Shino stated.

Hinata nodded. "O-okay…"

Shino and Kiba gently hauled her to her feet. When Kiba was sure she was gone, he slowly turned to Shino's tall, hooded form with a devilish grin. Shino exhaled sharply and turned.

"Drop it, Inuzuka." Shino began, his voice as cold as ice.

"Aww, look at that, Akamaru." Kiba snickered, purposely walking clumsy circles around him while Akamaru barked. "I was right, for once. Bug boy does have a little crush on Hinata."

He laughed uncontrollably when Shino growled. "Ohhhh, scary! I bet my gerbil slippers just ran for cover."

"Careful, mutt." Shino seethed, "I can always fill your lungs with beetles."

Kiba shot him a look. "You wouldn't." Blast it, he knew how much he hated the smell of his bugs.

In an instant, Shino grabbed Kiba's earlobe and pulled his head close, despite his friend's protests.

"Keep your mouth shut. Do that, and I'll keep them at bay."

"Oh, come on, man, chill." Kiba said, rubbing his ear as soon as Shino released it. "I'm just trying to offer my services."

"I don't need your help. Why, you ask? Because I can handle this on my own, Kiba."

"Yeah, right." Kiba crossed his arms, "When was the last time you talked to a girl?"

Shino remained silent. When he did not respond, Kiba came closer and leaned his ear in.

"Don't worry, I'll wait."

He inched closer and closer until he heard Shino sigh in defeat. Without a word, Shino turned completely and began to walk. Kiba frowned and followed him.

"Okay, Shino, wait. It's just a little teasing, is all. I'm really trying to help you."

"If you haven't noticed, Kiba, I'm not the type to joke around."

"Alright, alright, joking aside." Kiba dismissed him and threw his arm around his shoulders. "The point is simply this: you want Hinata, but you don't know if she wants you. Right?"

When Shino didn't replied, he shook him. He groaned and mumbled.

"Right."

"Right." He looked up deep in thought. Shino looked at him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm thinking. Can't I think?"

"You never cease to surprise me, Kiba."

"Hey, shut it, I'm doing you a favor."

Shino sighed. Why, oh why, was it always him? He waited helplessly while Kiba rocked back and forth on his heels, waiting for an idea to kick in. Akamaru sat looking up at his master, wagging his tail. After what seemed like forever, Kiba's eyes lit up with excitement.

"That's it!" he barked, "Konoha's Hanabira Festival!"